I Provide Protection
by PuffedGill
Summary: Hitomi Kanetsukabe was ecstatic to find she'd been admitted to UA's hero course. Her high school life was just beginning, and she'd soon find out she'd be getting more than she bargained for. This is an OC story, where she is a part of Class 1-A as one additional student! This is my first work, and is cross-posted to AO3 and Wattpad. (ON HIATUS UNTIL LATE JUNE)
1. Prologue - Hitomi Kanetsukabe: Origin

**A/N: Hello everyone! Welcome to my first ever fanfiction! I'm going to be honest with you right now, I'm definitely not a writer, so I have no idea what I'm actually doing.**

**I created this OC more than a year ago, and I felt like I would try my hand at writing out her story.**

**P.S. I'll be drawing images to have at the beginning of each chapter to showcase the outfits that will be worn by my character, as well as scenes from that chapter itself that will be shown at the end. Unfortunately, FanFiction doesn't allow you to do embed or link images, so if you want to see them they'll be up on my AO3 and Wattpad accounts under the same name.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**Edit - In order for new readers to know the appearances of the characters (since I don't describe them because I wrote this with the intent that pictures accompany the chapters) I'll leave a link to where you can view the pictures in my DeviantArt Stash.**

**Art -**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 1] Add ****/0m8g6wj2yhn to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

It wasn't often than Hitomi got to see her best friend in person.

Communication by call, text, and other forms of long distance between two different countries was achievable, but it would get taxing after a while.

Not to mention that seeing your best friend in person was better than anything video chat could provide.

It was the first time Hitomi and Nari had seen each other physically in 3 years, and they decided to spend their first day together with Hitomi showing Nari around the outdoor mall in her city.

It was supposed to be _fun_. They were supposed to be _happy_.

That was the only thought running through Hitomi's mind from her place on the ground.

It had all happened so fast.

Hitomi and Nari has just been walking past stores, looking at the window displays when a loud crash sounded only a few feet in front of them.

Smoke billowed, and the next thing they knew a man with disgustingly long claws protruding from his knuckles was in front of them. He reminded Hitomi of the Wolverine, only more haggard and disheveled.

He swung at the two of them, and on instinct Hitomi put up a force field around herself. He was stronger than he looked, because his swing held so much force that it launched Hitomi into a store front, her force field falling apart on impact.

She fell to the ground on her hands and knees, her ears ringing and her vision blurry. Her head snapped up in a panic, eyes searching for Nari.

She found her, midair above the villain, the springs that came out of the heels of her feet extended.

Hitomi sighed in relief, as Nari seemed to jump out of the villain's way before getting hurt.

_Thank God._

However, Hitomi's relief was short-lived.

The villain grabbed Nari's springs while she was still in the air, slamming her down on the ground before grabbing her body and holding her close, the claws held dangerously close to Nari's heart.

He had taken her hostage.

Heroes and policemen had already arrived at the scene, but no one moved.

"STAY BACK!" he cried. "If anyone takes one step closer, I'll slice this little girl to pieces!"

Hitomi tried to move, but her body wouldn't let her. She saw the terrified look on her best friend's face, yet her body refused to cooperate.

She was frozen in fear.

Out of the corner of her eye, there seemed to be a hero stationed at a building a block away, out of the villain's sight. Hitomi saw the hero aim a sniper rifle, and take a shot.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

The tranquilizer bullet hit the villain dead-on, but not before the villain was able to slice Nari from the neck to her chest.

Blood came spitting out of her body as she fell to the ground. So. Much. **Blood.**

It was the most nauseating sight Hitomi had ever seen.

_I should have protected her. I should have reacted faster. It's my fault. Myfaultmyfaultmyfaultmyfault-_

She wanted to throw up. She wanted to cry. She wanted to run to Nari's bleeding body and see if she was even still alive.

But her body didn't let her.

Instead, she fainted.

* * *

_3 weeks later…_

Hitomi slowly opened the door to the hospital room labeled "Nari Varsteg".

She walked to the chair stationed by the bed as her friend turned from the window to look at her.

"Hey. How… how are you feeling?"

Hitomi's friend smiled.

"Better! Hospital food is still nasty as usual though." Her voice came out groggy from the lack of use.

Hitomi poured her a glass of water and handed it to Nari.

"Ah, thanks! My throat's been feeling really dry lately since I haven't been allowed to talk as much. I keep telling everyone my throat feels fine, but they keep shushing me." Nari's lips pursed in a pout from the thought of everyone telling her to stay quiet. Hitomi only stared at her hands in her lap.

"..."

"Hitomi… you know it's not your fault right?"

_But it is._

"Hitomi, look at me.

"I've told you so many times already, and I'll keep saying it. What happened wasn't your fault."

"..."

"It's not your responsibility to protect me."

"..."

"You shouldn't feel guilty over something that's not even your fault!"

"Even if you say it's not my fault, that doesn't change the fact I could've done something!"

Hitomi was standing, tears starting to pool in her eyes.

"I could've have protected you Nari, and prevented you from ever getting hurt, but I didn't, even with my quirk! I could have kept you safe, and I didn't!"

"Hitomi, there's nothing you could have done. You put one up around yourself on instinct, just like how I tried to jump out of the way. We're 12 for Christ's sake, stop feeling like you're holding the weight of the world on your shoulders!"

"Nari… I've enrolled in a hero novice course for next year."

"...what?"

"I couldn't stop thinking about it. Why, just why was I given this quirk? Why am I given it if I don't do anything with it?

I'm going to train, and I'm going to get stronger. I'm going to use my quirk to protect others, otherwise why am I allowed to have it and not someone else who will actually use it?"

By this point tears were streaming down Hitomi's face. Nari was just staring in disbelief.

"I'm going to get stronger, so I can make up for not saving you. So that neither you nor anyone else will get hurt while I stand by ever again!"

With her vision watery and her voice cracked, Hitomi turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

**A/N: And that's the first chapter! I stayed up till 12:30 AM on a school night when I first wrote this on Google Docs, so sorry if it's a little wonky. ****Hitomi's beginnings turned out a lot angstier than I intended back when I first made her, but oh well :0**


	2. UA Entrance Exams

**A/N: The first official chapter is here! I wrote this chapter inspired by a ton of other BNHA fanfics I've read, but I hope I was able to add enough of my own touch to make it my own.**

**Enjoy!**

**EDIT:**

**Art - **

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 2] Add ****/2nzg3ron3rc to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

_3 years later…_

An alarm for 7 AM blared by Hitomi's ear, making her groan and hit snooze.

_Ugh._

Not even a minute later, an evil gremlin Hitomi loathed to call her younger brother kicked the door open, the sound jolting her awake.

"WAKE UP SLEEPYHEAD!"

_This boy is a 13 year old._

Hitomi turned so her face was mashed into her pillow and her back facing the door.

"Get out." Her voice was muffled by her pillow.

"Ahh, but Hitomi, shouldn't you be getting up? The UA Entrance Exam is today~"

"I _know_ that. But you're NOT the one who's waking me up. I can do that myself. Now get out."

"Ok then, me and Kinkata will eat all the crepes Mom made! She made them for you but since it doesn't seem like you'll be having any that's more for us!"

"What?! HEY-"

The girl tried to jump out of bed, but her legs were tangled up in her blankets and she fell to the floor.

"Don't you _dare_ touch my crepes. I'll be down after I change and get my stuff ready, so just get out already."

"I won't touch them if you get there before I do!" And then the gremlin slammed the door shut.

"TOKU! That little- God, it's too early for this."

The bluenette untangled her legs from the blanket and got ready for the day.

_Shoot, I don't actually have a school uniform to wear to the exam… Whatever, not like it really matters._

She pulled a white button up and a gray pleated skirt from her closet, changing her clothes. _These could pass as a uniform though, right…?_

Hitomi's family had moved back to Japan from America three months ago after her dad got promoted, and she'd opted to just be homeschooled until the new school year started.

A glance at her clock told her it was 7:30, meaning she only had 10 minutes to eat if she wanted to get to UA early.

_Crap!_

Grabbing the workout clothes she'd prepared on her desk chair, Hitomi stuffed them into her backpack and stumbled down the stairs in a hurry.

_You better not have touched my crepes, Toku!_

* * *

Hitomi could only gape at the large building as students filed in around her.

"Hello, Earth to Hitomi?"

Hitomi blinked to realize her best friend was waving a hand in front of her face to catch her attention.

"Sorry… it's just… a _lot _bigger than I thought it'd be."

Nari looked at the anxious expression on her friend's face, before slipping something off her wrist.

"Hitomi, I know you'll do great. You prepared a ton for this exam, and if you're really doubting yourself, then you definitely need to wear this."

Nari held a simple black hair tie with two purple beads in her hand; Hitomi stared at it curiously.

"A hair tie?"

"A _lucky_ hair tie. Whenever I wear this I always seem to do good on a test, so maybe you can wear it while you take your exam? You kind of look like you need a good luck charm."

Hitomi gingerly picked it up before switching out the plain hair tie holding her hair for Nari's beaded one.

"Thanks, Nari."

"Well, I shouldn't keep you waiting any longer." Nari shoved Hitomi past the gate, before calling back, "Knock 'em dead Hitomi!"

Hitomi waved goodbye as Nari left before turning around to see an angry blonde in front of her yell at some poor green-haired kid. The green-haired one seemed to be anxious and frozen in fear as the blonde walked past.

_Classmates probably…_

* * *

Hitomi took in the large auditorium as she listened to Present Mic explain the practical exam.

The silence he received from everyone made her feel kind of bad.

_That kind of lackluster response would make me want to dig a hole and never come out._

Hitomi watched the screen as Present Mic explained the faux villains and the point system, before he was interrupted by a young man in glasses.

A spotlight shined about 4 seats away from her on the boy in glasses, and Hitomi blinked in disbelief as he criticized UA's apparent miscount of the villains.

"Such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming for UA, Japan's top academy!

And you, with the curly hair!"

Hitomi turned to see who he was pointing at, realizing it was the green-haired boy she saw at the entrance. Not only did some people witness him nearly faceplant earlier, but now he was being called out in front of every single examinee!

"You've been muttering this whole time… it's distracting! If this is some sort of game to you, then please leave immediately!"

She felt really, really bad for him.

Hitomi turned back toward the front as Present Mic explained the fourth faux villain, which turned out to be worth 0 points.

_Best to avoid that one then..._

Present Mic sent them off with a "Plus Ultra!" and Hitomi scurried off to change and find Arena D.

* * *

Hitomi stood outside Arena D in a purple sports shirt and black sweatpants, taking in her surroundings as she moved her hair into a high ponytail.

She looked around at her fellow examinees, ogling those with visible quirks she could currently see. She turned back to face the gate, clenching her jaw.

_Will I really be able to pull this off against people like this?_

Shaking her head, Hitomi stood straight, taking a deep breath.

"And… BEGIN!"

Although a bit surprised at the suddenness, Hitomi wasted no time in rushing forward as the gates opened, maneuvering past the other examinees that still hadn't moved yet. She ran through the city as she heard Present Mic mention that real fights didn't get to have countdowns.

Finding a more secluded spot, she stopped as a 3-pointer skidded to a stop in front of her.

Her pupils glowing, Hitomi formed a small force field wall along her arm before flinging it at the robot, destroying it.

Determination greatly outweighed her anxiety now.

She continued to run through the city, destroying robots and protecting some examinees who weren't paying attention to their surroundings as she moved past.

_Don't worry about how many points you have. Just destroy as many robots as you can._

After about two minutes, Hitomi felt the ground rumble beneath her feet, stumbling before a large shadow amassed behind her.

She turned around to find a gargantuan robot rolling towards her.

_THAT'S the zero pointer?_

"What the hell is that?!"

"Is that the zero pointer?! That's way too big for this arena!"

"RUN!"

_Crap. _Willing her legs to move, Hitomi ran as the zero pointer smashed a building dangerously close to her. She felt the wind blow around her from the impact, tripping over her own feet. A few feet away from her she noticed an unstable portion of the building about to fall on a boy with black hair.

_He's going to get crushed!_

Without thinking, she sprang to her feet and tackled him, her force field blooming around the two of them before the debris could hit.

"Ow…"

Hitomi could feel a headache coming on.

"Hey, are you okay?!"

Hitomi looked up as the dust settled around them. She noticed the boy had spiky teeth. _Maybe that's part of his quirk…?_

The boy snapped his fingers in front of her face, bringing her back to reality.

"Hey, you're okay right? You're not hurt or anything?"

Another crash sounded above them, and Hitomi just barely had enough time to set up a barrier above the two of them.

"It's not safe here. We need to go, NOW!"

She leapt to her feet and grabbed the boy's wrist before fleeing from the zero pointer, keeping the force field above them intact as debris fell from the building.

Right as they ran out from the dust and smoke, they heard Present Mic's voice yell that time was up. A horn sounded, signaling the end of the test.

"The test… is over?"

Hitomi bent over, hands on her knees, panting from her run from the zero pointer. _I don't even know if I was able to destroy enough robots._

Her hands clenched, bunching up the fabric of her sweatpants. _Shit… I should've kept track of my points…_

"Hey…"

She looked up, realizing the boy from earlier was still standing next to her.

"Thanks for saving me back there! I don't know what I would've done if I got squished under all that, uhhh…"

She blinked, realizing they couldn't really introduce themselves while they were trying to avoid getting crushed.

"Hitomi."

His cheeks were tinted a slight pink. "Ahh, Hitomi? That's seems like a first name, are you sure you're okay with me using that?!"

Hitomi nodded her head and gave him a slight smile as they headed to the locker rooms to change. "Go ahead! I prefer that people call me by my first name, especially since my last name is kinda long, but you can call me Kanetsukabe if you don't want to."

"No, that's ok, I just wanted to make sure it was really fine with you."

_Such a gentleman._

"I'm Eijiro Kirishima! You can call me whatever you're comfortable with."

"Ok then… Kirishima-san."

"Hey, no need to be so formal! We're friends now, aren't we?"

_Friends…?_

By then they had arrived at the locker rooms, and thus had to part ways.

"Will I be seeing you around, Hitomi?"

Hitomi face fell into a melancholy smile, turning to look at the ground.

"Maybe… I don't think I got enough points to pass, though. It was nice to meet you, Kirishima-san."

She shot him one last smile before disappearing into the locker rooms.

* * *

**A/N: I honestly have no idea how to pace stories, haha. Official canon characters have officially made cameos (or appearances in Kirishima's case), as well as mentions of Hitomi's family. I've stayed up till 10:30 drawing out the scenes for this chapter, which I'm going to have to try and link in my profile or something.**

**Again, I _highly_ suggest reading this story on AO3 or Wattpad, as I'm able to put my drawings there as well as give you music to listen to.**

**See you at Chapter 2!**


	3. A Letter From All Might

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm uploading this on a Friday, which means that hopefully I can draw up pictures for the upcoming chapters over the weekend. That's really all for this author's note.**

**Oh, one more thing! As promised, I've provided a link in my bio where you can access the pictures that go along with the chapters, as well as links to my AO3 and Wattpad accounts. Head there so you can get a better vision of what Hitomi looks like, as I originally wrote this story with the intent that pictures would accompany it.**

**EDIT:**

**Art -**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk?edit=1 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 3] Add /0k6ej4d8fql to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

It had been three weeks since the entrance exam.

Hitomi scoffed as she finished thumbing through the mail from that morning, the lack of a UA logo starting to piss her off.

She threw the stack of letters onto the kitchen table, grabbing her phone to head back upstairs to her room.

Her mother looked at her as she walked past.

"Still nothing?"

"No… you'd think a high and mighty institution like UA would at least send a rejection letter, but no. I guess they can't even do that."

"You… you can always go to another school."

"I know… it's just frustrating I spent all that time training and preparing and UA doesn't even have the guts to tell me they don't want me. Do they do that to all the students who don't pass…?"

Hitomi's mother tried to give her daughter a reassuring smile. "I'm sure they don't. Maybe it just takes a while for the letter to arrive?"

"That _letter_ was supposed to come two weeks ago!

...it doesn't matter. I'll just file for a transfer to Nari's school, they'll definitely have a hero course there. At least then there'll be someone I know there."

"Hitomi…"

"I'm going upstairs to read up on Nari's school. Just have Toku call me when dinner's ready or something."

As she stalked up the stairs, Hitomi's jaw clenched. She knows she shouldn't be so cross with her mother; it wasn't even her fault. But she couldn't help but be so unbelievably _frustrated_ about the silence she was getting from UA. Even if she was rejected, she would have at least liked to have known her score.

Apparently UA wasn't even going to give _that_ to her.

* * *

It had been a few hours since Hitomi had checked the mail, but the tranquility of her room was interrupted by her younger brother slamming the door open.

"HITOMI!"

She swiveled around in her desk chair, ire in her voice as she spoke. "Would you _please_ stop slamming my door open?! You're going to make a dent in my wall if you haven't done that already!"

"Yeah, whatever," he panted, leaning against the doorframe to catch his breath. "You've got- Mom sent me up to get this to you."

He held out an envelope with an emblazoned wax seal on the front.

_It was from UA._

She gingerly picked up the envelope, holding it as if it would crumble in her hands, and sat down at her desk.

"Mom says to come down after you open it; dinner's ready."

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Hitomi seemed as if she was off in her own world, not noticing Toku as he left the room and the door clicked shut.

All Hitomi could do was stare.

She almost didn't want open it, spiteful of the fact UA had taken so long just to send her rejection letter.

_Might as well get it over with._

She tore off the top of the envelope, a small metal disk falling out along with a folded piece of paper.

"I AM HERE AS A PROJECTION!"

Hitomi's heart felt like it stopped at the sight of All Might. _Why is this with my rejection letter? Is he with UA?_

Hitomi watched in confusion as All Might bowed.

"Young Kanetsukabe, I am deeply sorry to inform you there's been a mix-up in our system, and I wholeheartedly apologize on behalf of UA for taking so long to get this message to you."

_A mix-up…?_

"As you're probably aware, UA acceptance and rejection letters were meant to be distributed a week after entrance exams," All Might said heartily as he straightened himself, "but I'm quite sure you've noticed already you never received yours.

Let's take a look at the scoreboard!"

All Might swung his arms around elaborately to point a remote he was holding at the screen behind him. Hitomi tried to quench the hope building in her chest as All Might pressed a button.

The screen changed from the UA insignia to an image of a scoreboard, showing 11th to 20th place. Hitomi's eyes scanned the board, before focusing on 16th place.

_Hitomi Kanetsukabe._

Hitomi felt her breath hitch.

"Racking up a score of 24 villain points and 27 rescue points, for 51 points total, you've placed 16th in UA's entrance exam, earning you a spot in the hero course!"

But gray eyes were staring at the points in 17th place.

"But you weren't the only one to get 51 points.

You tied with another student; normally, when there are ties, the two to tie would be included in the top 36 for our hero course. However, due to some system error, you were not included in the top 36 and the entire score roster moved up one place, meaning 17th place took your spot and so forth."

Hitomi deflated. _I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up._

"I regret to inform you the staff at UA did not notice the error until after letters were distributed. That means students were officially enrolled in their respective courses by then."

Hitomi could only look down at her lap in shame, not wanting to hear the rest of the recording.

"However, do not lose hope young Kanetsukabe!"

Her head snapped back up.

"The teachers saw the potential in the power and versatility you demonstrated with your quirk, not to mention your score on the written exam was exceptional. The principal decided it would be best just to enroll you in the hero course as one additional student instead of going through the trouble of shifting students around, or dropping you entirely! After all, the more heroes in the making, the better!"

Hitomi couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Congratulations, young Kanetsukabe. I expect to see you at UA in April.

PLUS ULTRA!"

Hitomi stared at the wall in front of her as the recording shut off, processing everything she'd just heard.

_Holy __**shit.**_

Hastily getting up from her desk chair, she stumbled through her room, wrestling her door open before sprinting down the stairs.

"MOM! DAD! GUYS!"

* * *

**A/N: Although doubtful and full of spite at the beginning, Hitomi finds she got in! How she'll interact with her classmates at UA is the question. :0**


	4. Your Full Potential

**A/N: It's chapter three guys! :D I could've uploaded yesterday, but there was one last drawing I wanted to do that I'm really proud of. You'll see it in the link in my bio!**

**EDIT:**

**Art -**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk?edit=1 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 4] Add /21699bl92vhx to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi pulled on her blazer as she admired her outfit in the mirror.

_This is it! A real Japanese school uniform!_

Moving from Japan to America when she was 9 meant she had missed out on the Japanese school uniforms. UA was the first school she'd attend where uniforms were required, and she was probably more excited about that than any normal person should be.

Tying her hair up in her signature bun-ponytail with Nari's hair tie, she came downstairs to find a large breakfast laid out on the kitchen table.

Hitomi's mother turned from her place by the stove to find Hitomi hovering over the table.

"Congratulations on getting in Hitomi! I hope you don't mind today's breakfast, I was just so excited that my daughter is on her way to becoming a hero!"

"Ah, Mom, you didn't have to do all of _this._ I won't have time to eat all of it."

Her mother pushed Hitomi into a chair before returning to the stove. "Not if you don't start right now!"

* * *

Hitomi ran through the halls of UA, looking for a sign labeled 1-A.

She stopped as she turned a corner, finding a huge door with her class's name plastered on the front.

Her stomach churned. Although she _definitely_ didn't eat her mother's entire breakfast, she probably should have eaten less waffles. Maybe then her anxiety wouldn't (hopefully) make her throw up in front of her future classmates.

She slid open the door slowly to find some people already inside at their desks and chatting with those around them.

Feeling eyes on her, she checked the seating chart on the board to find her name placed in the bottom left corner; it seemed like an extra desk was placed in the last row.

_They really did just add me to the roster last minute, didn't they._

Scurrying to her seat behind a girl she assumed to be Yaoyorozu, she sat down and buried her head in her arms to quell her anxiety of the first day.

After a few minutes, a commotion sounded at the front of her row.

"Remove your foot from that desk! Such an action is insulting to those who came to UA before us as well as the craftsmen who made the desk!"

"Like I care! What middle school are you from, you _extra?_"

Hitomi raised her head as the two argued only to realize she recognized them from the entrance exam.

_So they're gonna be my classmates… this definitely won't be a quiet class._

She watched as the bespectacled boy turned to talk to someone at the door. Looking over, she realized it was the green-haired kid.

_He's not going to belittle him again, is he?_

Luckily, it seemed as though they were instead having proper introductions with each other. With them not being very quiet, she found out their names were Tenya Iida and Izuku Midoriya.

She continued to watch them talk as a brunette girl with a cute bob arrived to the conversation, introducing herself as Ochako Uraraka and complimenting a punch Midoriya had pulled off at the entrance exam.

Suddenly a deadpan voice was heard by the door.

"If you're here to socialize, then get out."

Hitomi saw a disheveled man climb out of a yellow sleeping bag from her seat, his long, unkempt hair and large scarf around his neck confusing her.

_Is he supposed to be a teacher?_

Her question was answered, as the man introduced himself as Shota Aizawa, their homeroom teacher.

He rustled through his sleeping bag, pulling out what looked to be a red, blue, and white gym uniform with the letters "UA" on the front.

"Change into your gym clothes and head out to the grounds."

* * *

To say Hitomi was confused was an understatement.

When she thought about what her first day would be like, she definitely didn't imagine _this._

She didn't expect she'd be standing out with her classmates on the P.E. grounds, about to partake in what her teacher called a "Quirk Apprehension Test".

"What about the entrance ceremony? Or guidance sessions?"

Uraraka had basically voiced Hitomi's thoughts out loud.

Aizawa went on to explain how people were prevented from realizing the potential of their quirks, listing off gym tests done in middle school.

Hitomi watched as Aizawa called the spikey-haired blonde Hitomi recognized from the entrance exam to the throwing circle, finding his name to be Bakugou.

It was as Bakugou was about to throw the ball that Hitomi realized she had absolutely no idea what the quirks of the rest of her classmates were.

A loud cry of "DIE!" was heard, and Hitomi watched in awe as an explosion erupted from Bakugou's hand, launching the ball what had to be hundreds of meters away.

"It's important for us to know our limits," Aizawa said as he held up a small device, displaying "705.2 m". "That's the first rational step to figuring out what kind of heroes you'll be."

"705 METERS?! SERIOUSLY?"

"Woah! This is awesome!"

Hitomi listened as her classmates cheered around her, but the stone-cold look on her teacher's face worried her.

...

Hearing the words that the person with the lowest score would be expelled sent her into a panic.

_It's because I'm here, isn't it?_

As her classmates cried out in disbelief, Hitomi wondered what she was going to do.

She listed off the eight tests Aizawa had mentioned to herself, thinking about how she could use her quirk to improve her score.

_Softball throwing, the standing long jump, 50-meter dash, endurance running, grip strength, side-to-side stepping, upper-body training, and the seated toe-touch._

_Looks like my force field will be moving around a lot._

Still, the thought gnawed at the back of her mind that someone was going to be expelled because of her.

* * *

Having an uneven amount of people in the class, Hitomi had to be in a group of three with the last two students to go, them being Yaoyorozu and a small boy named Mineta.

_If I can use a force field to propel myself forward, maybe I can knock off a few seconds as long as I don't trip…_

As the three students were getting into position, Hitomi noticed Yaoyorozu slipping on a pair of roller blades before moving into position.

_Where did she get those?!_

At the sound of the whistle, Hitomi formed a force field a few feet behind her. Bringing it towards her quickly, she maneuvered her feet onto it and the force of the coming barrier launched her forward several meters. She stumbled as her feet met back with the ground, but ran towards the sensor as fast as she could, a satisfying beep sounding off as she passed.

"4.58 seconds."

She looked back to see Yaoyorozu and Mineta pass the finish line, their scores sounding off.

_That's three seconds faster than in middle school!_

_It seems like using my force fields will be useful during the tests._

Hitomi held her hands in front of her, clenching her fists as Aizawa called for the class to move on to the next test.

* * *

Hitomi stepped into the throwing circle, staring at the ball in her hand.

_I'll have to throw a lot of force fields at it if I want to get a better score._

A plan set, Hitomi threw the ball as hard as possible. Immediately after, she made small force fields along her arms and threw them at the ball continuously. She could see it propel forward with each hit, and in one last effort, Hitomi made one bigger force field with both her hands, throwing it with all her might.

The ball shot forward from the impact, before finally falling to gravity and hitting the ground.

Aizawa held up the device.

"152.4 meters."

Hitomi's brow furrowed.

It's not that that score wasn't impressive; it was actually three times better than her distance in middle school.

The problem to her was that it was _nothing_ compared to her other classmates.

What was she thinking? She couldn't begin to compare to them.

Bakugou had gotten 705 meters.

Uraraka, who had gone before her, literally got **infinity.**

The doubtful thoughts swirling in her mind were interrupted by Aizawa telling her to do her second throw.

...

After she finished her turn, she went to stand with the rest of her class as Midoriya walked to the throwing circle.

"Hey, Hitomi!"

She turned to find a hand on her shoulder, before looking up to see bright red hair and spiky teeth. He looked somewhat familiar, but Hitomi couldn't place it. She tilted her head to the side, giving the boy a hard stare.

"Do I know you…?"

The boy grinned, pointing to his hair. "It's me, Kirishima! From the entrance exam! You probably didn't recognize me 'cause I dyed my hair!"

At that Hitomi's eyes widened, remembering the boy she'd saved. "Kirishima-san?!"

"I thought I told you you don't have to use the -san. And hey, sorry I wasn't able to talk to you earlier. You did great at the softball throw!"

She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed he was in her class. Granted, he _had_ changed his appearance, but his standout spiky teeth and the scar on his right eye should have been enough to remind Hitomi of who he was.

She had been too busy worrying about herself.

"Oh, no… it's not that impressive, especially compared to Bakugou or Uraraka…"

"It's still good! My quirk can't really help with this kinda stuff, but yours seems really useful!"

Kirishima gave her a smile that seemed to radiate sunshine.

Their conversation was interrupted when they heard Aizawa speak.

"I erased your quirk."

They turned to find Aizawa's scarf unravel, his hair lifting into the air as Midoriya was pulled closer to him.

Aizawa said a few words to Midoriya that Hitomi couldn't hear, before letting him go to do his second throw.

_I wonder what's wrong…_

As she watched Midoriya's arm swing, she noticed his index finger glow slightly, before the ball shot into the air. Midoriya threw with so much force the wind blew around them.

Hitomi looked at him in awe, before noticing his finger appeared bruised.

_His quirk hurts him that quickly?_

Midoriya held his injured hand, looking to Aizawa.

"Sensei… I can still move."

"WHAT THE HELL?! DEKU, YOU BASTARD!"

Hitomi jolted, turning to see Bakugou charging at Midoriya. Before he was able to get close, Aizawa restrained him with his scarf.

After a few words, Aizawa let him go. As the class moved on to do the other tests, Hitomi couldn't help but wonder what kind of relationship Midoriya and Bakugou had with each other.

* * *

**A/N: I'll be honest, I thought this chapter was paced _really_ weirdly... I'm kinda just trying to get through these first few introduction chapters because I honestly really want to get to Season 2.**


	5. A Friend or Two?

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry to say there is no drawing for this chapter. It's fine though, because this kind of ended up becoming a filler chapter. I intended for this to be where the battle training starts, but I wrote so much here that that'll be next chapter.**

**Regardless, enjoy!**

* * *

"Moving along. Time for the results."

Aizawa pressed a button on his small device, a scoreboard being projected.

Hitomi's silver eyes scanned the board, finding her name in the second column.

_I'm in 16th place again… but I passed!_

Her eyes fell to the bottom, worry and guilt building as she realized who was in last place.

_Izuku Midoriya._

"By the way, I was lying about expelling someone."

_WHAT?!_

"That was a rational deception, meant to bring out the best in all of you."

Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida all cried out in disbelief.

Yaoyorozu spoke up. "Well of course it was a lie… it didn't take much to figure that out."

Hitomi could only gape as Aizawa handed Midoriya a note and walked away.

He didn't seem like the type of person to lie about that, not to mention the face he had made when he told them seemed like he was being completely serious.

_But thank god… No one's getting expelled!_

* * *

As Hitomi was walking towards the front gate, she heard a voice calling her name.

"Hitomi!"

She stopped, turning to find what she had dubbed "a ray of sunshine" running towards her.

"Are you heading to the station?" Kirishima asked once he had caught up.

"Oh, yeah, but only for one stop. I don't live that far away."

"Cool, let's walk together then! I'm heading there too."

Kirishima talked animatedly about their quirk apprehension test as they made their way to the station, commenting on their classmates' amazing quirks when a thought came to Hitomi.

"Hey, Kirishima-san, can I have your number?"

The redhead stopped, both in surprise and from arriving at the train station.

"You really want it?"

Hitomi blushed, not used to initiating friendships since the way she saw it, every friend she'd made was from an extrovert adopting her.

But as she listened to Kirishima talk, and thought about her classmates, she'd realized she needed to change.

She couldn't just be floating through life anymore.

She had to take _initiative_ if she wanted to be a hero.

And taking small steps by making friends on her own felt like the best way to go about it.

Kirishima still awaited a response, staring at Hitomi.

"Ahh, you don't have to give it to me if you don't want to!" Her face turned an even darker shade of red as she looked away. "I just thought, since you said we were friends… we're friends, right…?"

The redhead's smile felt so bright.

"Of course we are! Hold on, let me get my phone out…"

After they exchanged contact information, they parted ways to take different train lines.

As Hitomi took her seat on the train, she glanced at the new number on her phone. She smiled to herself, putting in Kirishima's name.

* * *

Morning classes seemed to fly by.

Hitomi recalled her nearly falling asleep during English, partially because she already knew the language, but also because the class turned out to be kind of dull.

How that was possible with a loud teacher like Present Mic amazed her.

During lunch, Kirishima had saved her poor introverted soul when he called her to his table, where more of their classmates sat.

Now it was time for afternoon classes, which meant…

"I AM COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"

Hitomi gaped as All Might appeared in the doorway and marched to the front of the class, decked out in a full hero costume.

The students whispered in excitement as All Might spoke, quieting when he held out a card that said the lesson plan for the day.

"BATTLE TRAINING!

And for that… you need these!"

All Might pulled a remote from a belt and pressed a button, revealing a row of panels that emerged from the wall.

"In accordance with the 'Quirk Registry' and the special request forms you filled out before being admitted…

COSTUMES!"

The panels held 5 cases each, labeled with student numbers, and Hitomi realized that hers wouldn't have been able to fit there.

She panicked in her seat as her classmates got up around her.

"Miss Kanetsukabe."

Hitomi looked up to find All Might's large figure by her desk. He seemed to have an apologetic look on his face.

"Due to your late admittance, your hero costume wasn't actually finished until last week. It's waiting for you in the Development Studio down on the first floor. Can I trust you to pick it up?"

"Of course, All Might!" she said as she stood up. "I won't take long, I promise!"

"Great. Go and head there now and then meet us at Ground Beta."

Hitomi nodded before running out of the classroom into the hall. Glancing at a map by the stairs and planning a route, she headed down to the Development Studio.

* * *

Hitomi entered the girls' locker room, relieved to find her classmates still there.

She was worried she would be late, as a girl in the Development Studio named Mei Hatsume seemed eager to make Hitomi her guinea pig for her inventions. Luckily, the teacher there, who was the pro hero Power Loader, handed her the case holding her hero costume and ushered her out before Hatsume could try anything.

As the girls around her conversed, Hitomi opened up the case, admiring the blue jumpsuit with white lining and purple highlights that sat inside. There were gloves and boots with braces around the wrist and ankles respectively, along with a utility belt and blue goggles. She read up on the specs of her costume, hurrying to change once some of the girls started to filter out of the locker room.

As she zipped up her jumpsuit, the tightness surprised her.

_Oh no, they made it skin-tight…_

She held herself with her arms, feeling exposed.

"Kanetsukabe-san, do you need help changing into your hero costume?"

Hitomi turned to find her and Uraraka were the only ones left in the locker room. Uraraka seemed to be fully changed, and Hitomi noticed the braces on her wrists and her big puffy heels.

The roundness of her costume fit her bubbly personality well.

"Oh, no… I'm fine. You don't have to wait for me… And call me Hitomi."

"In that case, you can just call me Ochako! And it's fine, I don't mind!"

Uraraka seemed like such a nice person.

"I'll be out in a bit, I promise. Don't worry about it."

Uraraka gave her one last look. "If you're sure…"

As the brunette stepped out, Hitomi read up on the equipment on her case before putting on her gloves, boots, belt, and goggles.

* * *

**A/N: I really hope I'm writing Hitomi and Kirishima's friendship well enough.**

**Battle training begins next chapter! How will Hitomi do in an actual fight?**

**I'm being completely honest, I DID have a picture planned out for this chapter, but I never drew it because 1) I gotta focus on schoolwork because I've got an AP Exam this Friday and 2) I want to move the story along, as I already have the story planned all the way up to the Hideout Raid Arc so far.**

**Sorry about my laziness. _ I promise the next chapter WILL have pictures!**


	6. Battle Training!

**A/N: Sorry for the inactivity. I've been stressing out over my AP Art Exam, and didn't get much of a chance to draw something for this chapter. I'v actually written all the way up to the start of the sports festival, but I'm too stubborn to update without pictures.**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 6] Add ****/026ujdbjwi52 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi watched in horror as Bakugou decimated the building with a huge explosion.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

She could tell they weren't exactly on friendly terms, but this…

This was on a whole other level.

_Why isn't All Might stopping this already?_

Hitomi had to turn away as Bakugou slammed his gauntlet into Midoriya. It was too much for her to watch.

Her classmates were talking amongst themselves, and Hitomi turned back towards the screens to see Bakugou and Midoriya exchanging words.

Her eyes widened as they charged at each other, speechless as Midoriya swung up, the force of his punch creating a gust of wind strong enough to destroy the building even more.

On another screen, Uraraka seemed to have broken off a pillar, swinging it at the debris that flew up from Midoriya's punch.

She leaped over the gaping hole in the floor, landing on the paper-mâché bomb and securing the weapon.

…

The hero team had won, but it didn't feel that way as Hitomi watched Midoriya's body hit the ground.

* * *

Hitomi was in a group of three with a girl named Jirou and a boy named Kaminari.

They discussed their quirks as they were looking at the blueprints of Battle Building C, trying to come up with a plan from the variety of their quirks.

"My earphone jacks can transmit sound from wherever I plug them into, so I can find out where the villain team has hidden the bomb."

Hitomi looked up at Jirou from her blueprint and smiled at her.

"That sounds good! We'll have to think of ways we can deal with Yaoyorozu-san though, since her quirk is Creation… I'm assuming she can make whatever she wants, so we can't just charge in without a plan."

"Are you sure I can't just blast them with my electricity?"

Hitomi turned to the blonde. "Kaminari-san, you can't just use your electricity so haphazardly. What if Yaoyorozu-san makes an insulation blanket or something? Besides, are you sure you can even aim you're electricity? I don't want to have to use my force fields to protect myself from my own teammate…"

"Ah, you're right…"

"Here, I think we can do this instead…"

* * *

Jirou stuck an earphone jack into the wall, listening for a moment before turning to her teammates and pointing upwards.

"There's sounds coming from the top floor."

"Ok, let's go. We have about 10 minutes before our simulation is over, so we should make this quick."

The three heroes-in-training dashed up the stairs, halting in front of a door on the last floor.

Hitomi stepped forward, grabbing the doorknob and looking over at her teammates.

"Stay behind me. I can use my quirk to protect us in case Yaoyorozu-san has set up some kind of trap."

Jirou and Kaminari nodded, taking a step back as Hitomi slowly turned the knob.

The door didn't budge.

Hitomi tried again, slamming her weight against the door this time.

It still didn't move.

"I think Yaoyorozu-san barricaded it."

Kaminari ran a hand through his hair.

"So what now?"

Hitomi stared at the door, trying to come up with another plan with the 8 minutes they had left. Kaminari turned to Jirou.

"Hey, Jirou, you think you can use your sound waves to break the door down?"

Hitomi spoke up.

"We can't do that. Midoriya-san's team lost points for causing a lot of damage to the building, and the bomb would have gone off if this was all real. We can't use our powers recklessly just because this is a simulation."

Hitomi placed a hand on the door.

_Maybe if I can…_

"Guys, if what I'm about to do works, carry out the rest of the plan like normal."

Kaminari and Jirou glanced at each other before taking another step back.

Hitomi's pupils glowed as she activated her quirk.

_Concentrate on a specific point, and expand it from there…_

Cracks started to form in the middle of the door, spreading as Hitomi formed a force field _inside_ the door.

The force field suddenly expanded, destroying the door and shoving the metal beams Yaoyorozu had placed out of the doorway.

Yaoyorozu and Mineta were standing by the bomb.

"We have 6 minutes left. Kaminari-san, go now!"

The three of them charged into the room, Kaminari running to the side while Hitomi and Jirou ran forward.

Hitomi launched a force field at Yaoyorozu, Jirou running to take care of Mineta.

Yaoyorozu, realizing Hitomi's plan was to distract her and Mineta while Kaminari went after the bomb, made a shield to protect herself from the force field's impact while simultaneously throwing a capture net at Kaminari.

Kaminari fell to the ground from the net, struggling to get out of it.

"Kaminari-san!"

Taking advantage of the distraction, Yaoyorozu swept Hitomi's legs out from under her, causing Hitomi to fall on her butt. A capture net was thrown onto her, restricting Hitomi's movement.

As she struggled to get out, she glanced at Jirou to find her feet had gotten stuck to the ground from Mineta's quirk. Hitomi recalled that Jirou's earphone jacks could extend for up to 6 meters, but the bomb was too far away.

All three of them had been immobilized.

_We have 3 minutes left! Someone needs to touch the bomb or we'll lose!_

Hitomi created a force field around herself underneath the net, expanding it the same way she had before with the door.

She felt the cords of the net snap, getting up and charging at Yaoyorozu.

She threw as many haphazard kicks and punches as she could, but Yaoyorozu dodged all of them.

_Shit._

Panicking, Hitomi launched a large force field wall towards Yaoyorozu, pushing her away.

Hitomi dashed towards the bomb, but when she was about 6 feet away, her foot caught on something and she tripped.

Glancing back at her feet in horror, she found her foot was stuck to the ground by the same balls from Mineta's quirk that had immobilized Jirou.

A loud horn sounded as All Might's voice was heard from their micro transceivers.

Her team had lost.

* * *

**A/N: I don't really have much to say today, as I'm really tired from stressing over submitting my AP Art portfolio. Again, apologies for the lack of updates. I should become more active within the next few days as I'll be taking my exam tomorrow and can finally relax afterwards.**


	7. Panic! at the Lunchroom

**A/N: My AP exam is done! :D It turns out I was kind of freaking out over nothing; most of my stress came from worrying over whether I'd finish framing my art in time, but the actual exam was suuuuuper simple. I can finally relax for once, which is a huge relief. TvT**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 7] Add ****/013pufqhnehb to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi was still frustrated with her performance by the time Midoriya returned to the classroom.

Her classmates had been optimistic, complimenting her quirk when she had returned from Battle Building C with the others, but she couldn't help but feel dissatisfied.

Even after they'd returned to the classroom, with a girl named Mina Ashido that could simply be described as _pink_ collecting contact info from everyone to make a class group chat, Hitomi was still thinking about the battle training.

So when Midoriya ran out after Bakugou at the front of the school, she turned to the window for a welcome distraction.

…

She had no idea what was being said, but it seemed as though with each word coming out of Midoriya's mouth, Bakugou only got angrier and angrier.

_Was he crying…?_

Bakugou yelled at Midoriya one last time before stalking off, All Might seemingly appearing out of nowhere and running after him.

From her seat Hitomi noticed Uraraka, Mina, and a girl she learned was Tsuyu Asui watching from the window as well.

"A battle between men!" Uraraka cried as she leaned her forehead against the glass.

Hitomi couldn't help but agree.

* * *

Hitomi was already in a bad mood the next morning, and the media shoving microphones and cameras in her face really wasn't helping.

Not only had she overslept, but her older brother Kinkata had also eaten the last few pancakes before running out to head to his college, leaving Hitomi with barely enough time to make toast for breakfast.

She turned her face away from the cameras, making her way towards the gate as a reporter followed after her.

"Can you tell us what being in All Might's class is like?"

She pretended not to hear, passing through the front gate and heading towards the school. She wasn't normally so rude, but her bad mood outweighed her anxiety enough that she didn't care she was upsetting the media.

…

In class, Aizawa pulled out a stack of papers, commenting on yesterday's battle training.

As Aizawa singled Midoriya and Bakugou out for their performances, Hitomi felt her mood worsen, reminded of her failure from the day before.

"Now on to homeroom business… Sorry for the sudden announcement, but today…

You'll pick a class representative."

Cheers erupted at the normalcy of the activity, her classmates all yelling to be class rep.

Honestly, Hitomi couldn't care less.

She didn't feel like the leader type, and the responsibilities of a class representative would only add more anxiety to her life.

She heard Iida speak up, turning to see his hand was raised high in the air.

"Our true leader must be chosen by election…!"

_You say that Iida-san, but you definitely want to be class rep the most…_

Still, his proposal didn't seem like a bad idea.

Hitomi smiled.

She knew just who to vote for.

...

Hitomi sat back in her seat, the results written on the board.

_I got zero votes, just as I expected…_

"I GOT THREE VOTES?!" Midoriya cried out.

"Damn! Only one vote…"

"You just voted for yourself, didn't you, Iida?"

"I didn't! I can assure you I voted for someone else…"

* * *

Uraraka basically kidnapped Hitomi to sit with her at her table during lunch, leaving Hitomi to give a sheepish wave to Kirishima as they walked past.

She took a seat next to Midoriya, setting down her tray of pork cutlet sandwiches.

She began to eat as Midoriya spoke.

"I'm just a little worried about whether or not I can really be class representative…"

"You can!"

"Worry not."

Hitomi was silent as Iida listed off the qualities that made Midoriya a good class rep. Honestly, she hadn't personally noticed those qualities of his at first, but his performance during the battle training said otherwise.

Realizing she had started to space out, Hitomi snapped back to reality to catch the last few bits of Iida's sentence.

"...make you perfectly suited to lead us all. That's why I voted for you."

Hitomi spoke up. "Iida-san, I'm sure you have those leadership qualities too! After all, you were the one to propose we vote. That's why I voted for you."

"Yeah, didn't you want to be class rep, anyway? You've got glasses and everything!" Uraraka said as she ate more of her rice.

"I appreciate your compliments, but again, suitability and ambition are different matters… I humbly made the choice I felt was correct."

Midoriya looked confused for a moment, the gears in his head turning. "'Humbly'...?"

"The way you talk… Iida, are you a rich boy?!"

Iida looked sheepish, turning to his food. "...I don't like people to know, so I try to hide it, but…

Yes. Mine is a renowned hero family."

Uraraka and Midoriya looked excited, giving Iida their full attention.

"Woah, that's so cool!"

As Iida talked about his brother, the hero Ingenium, Hitomi thought about her own family.

There was her mom, dad, and her two brothers. Her family was pretty normal, and only her and Toku were interested in pursuing heroics, especially since their quirks were best suited for it.

She wondered what Uraraka and Midoriya's families were like.

_VREEEEEE!_

Uraraka nearly choked on her rice as Midoriya and Iida abruptly stood up.

"The alarm?!"

An automated voice was heard over the loudspeaker as the alarm continued to ring.

"_Security Level 3 has been broken. All students, please evacuate in an orderly fashion._"

Hitomi had a panicked expression on her face as she rose from her seat. "What's going on?!"

Iida turned to a third-year who was running past their table.

"What's Security Level 3?"

The third-year didn't stop running, only looking over his shoulder to answer Iida's question.

"It means someone's infiltrated the building! That hasn't happened in all my three years here! Anyway, hurry up and get outta here!"

The four students looked at each other before running out of the lunchroom, the large crowd of students sweeping them into the hallway.

"Ow, ow!"

"Stop shoving!"

"Wait, I'm gonna fall!"

"I said quit pushing!"

Hitomi felt like she was being thrown around like a rag doll as the students around her shoved and pushed. Through all the chaos, she saw Iida, Midoriya, and Uraraka start to drift away.

She tried to reach for one of them, crying out. "Guys!"

As the crowd of students continued to shove and elbow each other, Hitomi felt herself get pushed out of the edge, stumbling towards the wall and bumping shoulders with someone.

"Ah, sorry…!"

As students hurried past her, she turned to find she had stumbled into Bakugou, the resident hothead of her class.

_It's him! The scary one who has beef with Midoriya-san!_

She felt his sharp glare, looking away and wanting to leave before she said anything stupid.

"Bakugou-san, don't you think we should be evacuating with the others?"

Apparently that message from her brain didn't translate to her mouth.

Bakugou was leaning against the wall, giving her a glare before turning to the window.

"Shut it, extra. It's just the media. Everyone's getting worried over nothing."

Hitomi turned to face the window, seeing the cameras and microphones of the press she had encountered earlier that morning.

"Oh, you're right…"

While Hitomi was looking outside, a loud voice sounded by the exit.

"EVERYTHING IS FINE!"

She turned to find Iida standing above the door frame, looking like the person in those emergency exit signs.

"It's just the press! There's nothing to panic about. We're fine!"

Hitomi could practically see the huge sigh of relief coming from the crowd of students.

* * *

"I believe… that Iida is best suited to be class rep!"

...

Everyone's chatter over Iida's stunt in the cafeteria led Hitomi to think back on the press.

_How did they get in…?_

* * *

**A/N: I'll be honest, I felt like this chapter was one of the most _oddly_ paced chapters, because I can't write. :/ Hopefully more updates will come over the weekend!**


	8. Rescue Training

**A/N: Two chapters in one night! I'm so happy to finally be able to work on this fic again, and I don't have to leave you guys hanging :D**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 8] Add ****/01wwpf6u4hr2 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"Now for today's basic hero training, this time, All Might, myself, and one other will supervise."

Hanta Sero raised his hand. "Sensei, what are we doing, exactly?"

Aizawa held up a card with the word "RESCUE" on it.

"Preparing you for disaster relief, from fires to floods. It's rescue training."

…

Hitomi walked towards the bus, decked out in her hero costume save for her goggles. If it was rescue training, she wouldn't need to hide the glow of her eyes, right? It wasn't like they'd be fighting anyone.

Mina was walking next to her, avidly talking about the different things they might do wherever it was they were going.

Iida was standing by the bus, blowing a whistle to catch everyone's attention.

"Everyone, line up according to your I.D. numbers!" He was moving his hands in odd gestures, as if he were a robot. "Fill those seats in an orderly fashion!"

…

"Damn! It was this type of bus…!"

Hitomi saw Iida bending over in his seat, likely either from shame or embarrassment.

She was seated near the back next to a boy named Shouto Todoroki, who seemed like he had been genetically cut in half. His red and white hair was perfectly split down the middle, and the preciseness of it kind of disturbed her.

She tuned in to the conversation near the front when she heard Kirishima's voice.

"... I'm good in a fight, but it gets real boring."

Midoriya and the others were talking about quirks fit for a pro.

"Well, if you're talking about flashy and strong, it's gotta be Todoroki and Bakugou, huh?"

Hitomi side-eyed Todoroki, recalling his performance during the battle training. He had single-handedly immobilized the villain team by freezing the entire building, without even damaging the bomb. Had he not needed Shouji's help in locating the other team, he would've practically done the exercise all by himself.

Hitomi heard Tsuyu speak. "Bakugou's always mad, so he doesn't seem like he'll be popular, though."

"WHAT THE HELL?! YOU WANNA FIGHT, FROG-FACE?!"

"See?"

The bluenette sighed, leaning her head back.

_This was gonna be a long ride._

* * *

The space-themed hero Thirteen proudly called the facility the "Unforeseen Simulation Joint".

Uraraka and Midoriya were enamored with them, energetically nodding along to what they were saying.

Aizawa and Thirteen exchanged some words before Thirteen turned back to the class.

"Before we get started, I have one or two points.

Or three… or four…"

…

"Your powers are not meant to inflict harm. I hope you leave here today with the understanding you're meant to _help_ people.

That is all! I thank you for listening!"

Iida applauded Thirteen while Uraraka cheered.

Hitomi felt a rush of excitement at the activities they would be doing, before the lights seemed to cut out and the fountain faltered.

A dark swirling mass appeared by the fountain. It seemed to distort reality, before starting to spread out.

Hitomi felt her gut wrench.

That feeling only worsened as Aizawa turned to see the black mist, before turning back to the class.

"Gather together and don't move! Thirteen, protect the students!"

Kirishima turned to see the same thing Hitomi and Aizawa saw, asking, "What's that? Is this like the entrance exam where the lesson's already started?"

Midoriya tried to step forward and get a better look before Aizawa stopped him.

"Don't move!"

Aizawa was slipping his yellow goggles on.

"Those are villains."

"Villains…?" Kirishima was talking again. "There's no way they could get into a hero school!"

Yaoyorozu stepped forward. "Sensei, what about the trespasser sensors?"

Thirteen turned to her. "We have them of course, but…"

They trailed off as Todoroki spoke instead. "Did they only appear here, or around the school? Either way, if the sensors aren't responding, that means they have someone with a quirk that can do that.

An isolated area separated from the main campus during a time when a class is supposed to be here.

They might be fools, but they're not dumb.

This surprise attack was carefully planned with some sort of goal in mind."

Hitomi's eyes widened in fear as Aizawa told Thirteen to start the evacuation. As he told Kaminari to try contacting the school with his quirk, Midoriya stepped forward in worry. "What about you, sensei? Are you going to fight by yourself? With that many, even if you can erase their quirks…"

Aizawa turned to Midoriya. "You can't be a hero with just one trick. I'm leaving it to you, Thirteen." Aizawa then leapt forward, diving headfirst into the sea of villains.

Hitomi watched for a moment as Aizawa fought the villains, before turning to run with the rest of the class towards the entrance.

Her stomach dropped as the swirling purple mist by the fountain appeared in front of them, stopping the class in their tracks.

"I won't let you."

The purple mist towered over them, and Hitomi noticed large glowing yellow eyes near the top.

"Nice to meet you. We are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves in to the home of heroes, UA High School, in order to have All Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his last breath."

Hitomi felt like she couldn't breathe.

_They want to kill All Might…?_

Hitomi felt herself freeze up as the villain continued to talk, before Bakugou and Kirishima charged forward, smoke erupting from Bakugou's explosion.

Hitomi had to shield her face as the smoke billowed around them, only to hear that same voice that made her freeze in fear.

"Oh dear, that's dangerous…"

As the smoke cleared, Hitomi saw that the villain appeared unharmed, and was even complimenting Kirishima and Bakugou's quirks.

Thirteen cried out. "No! Move away, you two!"

"My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!"

The villain's purple mist then engulfed the class, and Hitomi tried to will her legs to move.

She was still frozen in fear.

She heard Iida cry out, his engines wooshing behind her, before she felt the purple mist swallow her completely.

* * *

**A/N: Hitomi was overtaken by Kurogiri! Where will she end up?**

**I was planning on writing USJ in one whole chapter, but I wrote so much before the League of Villains even appeared that it had to be split in two.**

**Fun fact, I was actually writing out this arc after I finished my SAT last week. :P**


	9. The USJ Incident

**A/N: There is no picture to accompany this chapter this time around, because I really just wanted to post this now instead of waiting again for who knows how long. I don't want to keep you guys waiting too long! Maybe I should make an upload schedule, that'd probably be better...**

* * *

Hitomi felt herself falling as she was hit with the smell of smoke.

She opened her eyes to realize she was falling towards a fire, and she knew there wouldn't be enough time to put a force field around herself.

"Kanetsukabe-san!"

She felt a hand grab her wrist, halting her fall. Looking up, she realized her classmate Mashirao Ojiro was holding onto her, while his tail was wound around a flagpole jutting out of the building they were by.

"Ojiro-san!"

"Look, the kids are over there!" Hitomi looked down to see villains running towards them down on the ground. Without thinking, she threw a force field at them, knocking them down.

"Kanetsukabe-san, we need to get out of here..!" Ojiro's grip on Hitomi was starting to slip, before he decided to fling her onto his shoulder. He then vaulted off of the flagpole, jumping between buildings before finally finding a safe spot on the ground to land.

The two took a moment to catch their breath, and Hitomi was finally able to take in their surroundings.

Buildings were all around them, like a mini-cityscape, except for the large amount of fires spread about.

She was already starting to feel the effects of breathing in the smoke.

She coughed, squinting her eyes and turning to Ojiro. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible. The longer we breathe in the smoke, the harder it'll be to get past the villains. I'm positive there's a lot more in this area than the ones we just saw earlier."

"I agree. Kanetsukabe-san, how fast are you…?"

Hitomi grimaced. "Not very. I wouldn't be able to keep up with you, especially if I tried to run through all the fires…"

"I heard voices! I think those damn kids are over here!"

Hitomi and Ojiro snapped towards the sound of the voice, before Ojiro turned so his back was facing Hitomi.

"Get on, quickly! We have to make sure we're not caught. I can carry you on my back, but you'll have to hold on tight."

"Right...!"

Hitomi clambered onto the boy's back just as the villains caught sight of them.

"There they are!"

Ojiro used his tail to jump into the air, bypassing the villains as Hitomi gripped his gi. Turning her head to glance at the villains, she made another force field, throwing it at them. The villains staggered, Hitomi and Ojiro disappearing from their sight as the students turned a corner.

* * *

Ojiro and Hitomi continued to navigate through the Fire Zone, Ojiro vaulting over villains while Hitomi attacked them with her force fields, still riding on Ojiro's back.

A muffled, yet loud crash was heard, making Ojiro stop at the sound. "What was that?!"

"Do you think that came all the way from the entrance?"

"Maybe. It sounded far enough to know that it definitely didn't come from in here."

More crashes sounded outside the Fire Zone, and Hitomi and Ojiro heard the faint sound of rushing water.

After a few moments, another, louder crash was heard, and the force was strong enough that the heroes-in-training could _feel_ the facility shake.

"Over there!"

Ojiro and Hitomi turned to find more villains charging at them, brandishing weapons and activating their quirks.

Ojiro clicked his tongue in frustration. "Damn, there's just no end to them! Never mind what's going on outside, we need to keep running away!"

* * *

Hitomi tried to ignore the vibrations she felt from another crash outside.

She could tell Ojiro was at his limit, the smoke from the fires and her added weight taking its toll on him.

She wasn't doing much better herself. Her eyes were watery, and she was feeling light headed from breathing in the smoke for so long.

More muffled crashes sounded outside, sounding more and more like explosions.

The ground rumbled, making Ojiro falter. "What is going on out there?!"

Hitomi coughed, wiping her eyes. "Do you think someone was able to call the teachers…?"

The crashes finally seemed to stop, before one last explosion sounded outside, the ground shaking harder than it ever had before.

Ojiro narrowly dodged a villain's assault, knocking them out with his tail. "An explosion..?"

...

A thump sounded on the ground.

Noticing the lack of weight on his back, Ojiro turned to the source of the noise.

"Kanetsukabe-san!"

Hitomi felt like her head was spinning, her throat hoarse.

"Sorry, Ojiro-san… I'm too dizzy to get up…"

Hitomi had lost consciousness.

Another explosion was heard, and Ojiro knew it definitely came from inside the Fire Zone this time.

He picked the bluenette up, jumping onto a nearby balcony for a better look at the source of the explosion.

He coughed, feeling dizzy himself before he caught sight of yellow armor.

"That's…!"

* * *

Hitomi stirred at the sound of mechanical whirring.

Opening her eyes, she realized she was finally out of the Fire Zone, being carried to the entrance of USJ on Ojiro's back.

"Oh, you're awake." The pro hero Power Loader was walking beside them.

"Ah, Kanetsukabe-san!" Ojiro glanced back at Hitomi to find her staring at the destruction in the facility.

"What happened here…?" Hitomi's voice cracked, her throat still affected from the smoke.

"All Might fought a powerful villain." Power Loader was talking through his helmet. "Apparently they had both a shock absorbing quirk and super regeneration. What you see here is all the destruction their fight left behind."

"Where did all the other villains go?"

"Most have been apprehended, but the leader and the warp gate managed to escape."

By then the three had finally reached the entrance.

_Escaped… what if they try to kill All Might again…?_

* * *

After a quick check-up with Recovery Girl, Hitomi was riding the train home. The events of the day left her a bit shaken, and she had been texting Kirishima for comfort.

Apparently Kirishima had been at the Central Plaza, where All Might had been fighting the villain Kirishima said was called "Nomu".

From what he told her, seeing All Might in action was overwhelming, and it turned out many of the crashes and explosions she and Ojiro had heard came from All Might alone.

_All Might's power… Nothing less from the number one hero._

Her train came to a stop, prompting Hitomi to put her phone away as she stepped off.

As she exited the station, she found both Nari's family and her own waiting outside.

"HITOMI!" Nari and Toku ran towards her, tackling her in a hug. Their families approached, crowding around her.

"You're okay, right?!"

"We heard from the school…you had to go to the infirmary."

"Those villains didn't hurt you, right?!" Hitomi's mom grabbed Hitomi's face, observing it for any wounds or scars.

Hitomi gently moved her mother's hands away, taking a step back to breathe. "Guys, I'm fine. No one hurt me. I had to go to the infirmary because me and another classmate were in the Fire Zone; nothing came from a villain…"

The group let out a large sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness…"

"Besides, the teachers came and apprehended the villains, and Recovery Girl was able to heal everyone's injuries. I'd rather not think about it for now, so please, let's just go home…"

Hitomi's father patted her on the head. "Alright, sorry we're making you relive those memories… we were just worried about you.

Let's go home."

* * *

**A/N: Honestly, it'd probably make more sense if Ojiro was the one who fainted, since he moved around the most and had to carry Hitomi...**

**This is by far the chapter I had the most trouble writing. There's not really much you can do with the concept of hit-and-run, or maybe I'm just not that creative. :/ The latter half was pretty much the only part of this chapter I was really happy with.**

**I'm trying to keep Hitomi away from the action, because I don't want her to be a part of _every_ major plot point.**

**Sports Festival starts next chapter!**


	10. Sports Festival Start!

**A/N: The UA Sports Festival is here! I should really come up with an upload schedule, if I want to get a healthy amount of sleep for the last few weeks of school...**

**Pictures accompany the chapter this time around! Links are in my bio to see them.**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 10] Add ****/21ijqljswzul to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

_Two days later…_

The class chattered about USJ, talking about All Might's power and the news stories that popped up about the incident the night before.

"Everyone! Morning homeroom is about to start! Stop talking and take your seats!"

"We're already in our seats."

"You're the only one who's not."

Hitomi sweatdropped as Iida went to his seat.

Mina's voice could be heard from across the room. "Hey, Tsuyu-chan, who do you think is gonna teach homeroom today?"

"Well, Aizawa-sensei's still resting from his injuries, so…"

The class turned to the sound of the door opening.

"Morning."

Aizawa walked into the room, his face and arms completely wrapped in bandages.

"_Aizawa-sensei, you're back too soon!"_

Hitomi watched in worry as her teacher staggered to the podium.

"My well-being doesn't matter. More importantly, the fight's not over."

The three boys in Hitomi's row spoke, all vocalizing the same thing.

_The villains…?_

"The UA Sports Festival is drawing near."

The entire class erupted into cheers over the regular school activity. Kirishima's were the loudest, before he was stopped by Kaminari.

Jirou was talking. "Is it okay to have a sports festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?"

Ojiro swiveled in his chair to look at Aizawa, asking a question of his own. "What if they attack us again or something…?"

Hitomi had those same doubts festering in her mind, recalling the fear she'd felt when faced with the villains.

Aizawa was talking again. "Apparently, they think of it as UA showing that our crisis management system is solid as a rock by holding the event. Security will also be strengthened to five times that of previous years.

Above all, our sports festival is a huge chance. It's not an event to be canceled because of a few villains."

Mineta interrupted him. "But that's a good reason, right? It's just a festival of sports."

Hitomi heard Midoriya's voice. "Mineta-kun, you've never seen the UA sports festival?"

"Of course I have. That's not what I meant!"

It was then that Hitomi realized she herself had never actually seen them. Well, maybe when her family still lived in Japan, but that had to have been when she was really little. Even if she had watched it, it had been too long to remember anything. She had no idea what to expect.

Aizawa went on to explain the true extent UA's reputation held with the sports festival, Hitomi realizing what exactly kind of school she was in. The facilities in the school had already amazed her, but the sports festival becoming the equivalent of the Olympics?

This was completely out of her league.

Hitomi heard Yaoyorozu speak in front of her. "Of course, all the top heroes around the country will be watching. For scouting purposes!"

_Oh god, I didn't even think about scouting…_

The class moved on to discussions of scouting opportunities, as the sports festival was the best opportunity to get noticed by pros.

"One chance a year, a total of just three chances. No aspiring hero can afford to miss this event. If you understand that, then don't slack off on your preparations!"

"_Yes, sir!"_

* * *

It was lunchtime now, and everyone was already talking about the sports festival.

What Hitomi didn't expect was to see Uraraka so fired up.

"Everyone, I'm gonna do my best!"

Some of the class cheered for her, before Uraraka turned to another group of her classmates. "I'm gonna do my best!"

They cheered as well, although sounding more confused this time.

Seeing the normally bubbly brunette so worked up over the sports festival reaffirmed to Hitomi how important this event really was, as nearly all of Japan along with scouts would be watching.

_I've gotta do my best too…!_

* * *

The silver-eyed girl was packing up her things as she heard a commotion by the door.

"What's going on?!"

Slipping on her backpack, she walked a bit closer towards the door for a better look, only to find a large crowd of students outside.

Mineta was yelling at them. "We can't get out! What're you even here for, anyway?!"

"Scouting out the enemy, small fry."

Hitomi stepped back as Bakugou walked past her, the blonde shoving through Midoriya and Mineta on his way towards the door.

"We're the ones who made it out of the villain's attack. They probably wanna check us out before the sports festival.

There's no point in doing that."

Bakugou was talking to the crowd of students now. "Out of my way, extras."

Hitomi gaped at Bakugou's boldness, before she heard a deep voice from the crowd.

"I came to see what the famous Class A was like, but you seem pretty arrogant." A boy with messy purple hair was making his way towards the front of the crowd, Hitomi noticing the large bags under his eyes.

"Are all the students in the hero course like this?"

Bakugou made a strangled noise of discontent, before the boy continued.

"Seeing something like this makes me disillusioned.

There are quite a few people who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they didn't make it into the hero course."

Hitomi's eyes widened as the boy continued, thinking back on her letter from UA.

She was lucky enough to make it into the top 20, and even luckier that despite the system error preventing her admission, Principal Nezu was kind enough to put her in the hero course anyway.

Other kids didn't get the kind of luck she had received.

She tuned back into the conversation by the door to hear the boy was still speaking.

"... Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course.

And it seems they may transfer people out."

Iida, Uraraka, and Midoriya all recoiled.

"Scouting out the enemy? I, at least, came to say that even if you're in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from under you.

I came with a declaration of war."

Hitomi, Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida were all thinking the same thing:

_This person's bold, too!_

The tense atmosphere was interrupted by a shout.

Another boy with silver hair appeared by the door.

"I'm from Class B next door! I heard you fought villains, so I came to hear about it! Don't get so full of yourself!"

_Another bold person!_

The boy continued to shout, before Bakugou brushed past him to leave.

Kirishima tried to stop him, as it was Bakugou's aggression that caused the tension towards the class.

"Hold on, Bakugou! What are you gonna do about all this? It's your fault that everyone's hating on us!"

"It doesn't matter."

"Huh?!"

"It doesn't matter, as long as you rise to the top."

Bakugou then proceeded to leave, ignoring the silver-haired boy's shouts.

Hitomi decided it was time to leave as well, as she needed to make a few stops in town to prepare for the sports festival.

As she made her way out, time seemed to stop for a moment as she locked eyes with the purple-haired boy, his violet eyes boring into her as she walked past.

* * *

_Two weeks later…_

Hitomi was sitting by Kaminari in the 1-A Prep Room, turning over the extra hair tie on her wrist to try and calm her beating heart.

_It's today…! Everyone's going to be watching!_

"Midoriya."

Hitomi tensed, turning to see Todoroki had approached the curly-haired boy.

"Ah, what is it…?"

"Objectively speaking, I'm stronger than you."

"H-Huh? Um, of course…"

"All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he?"

Hitomi saw Midoriya's eyes widen, as if a secret he had been hiding had been found out.

Todoroki continued speaking. "I'm not going to pry into that, but…

I will beat you."

…

Hitomi walked towards the stadium entrance with the rest of her class, hearing Present Mic's loud voice outside.

She could already hear the cheers of a loud crowd in the stands.

_This is bigger than anything I could've imagined._

It was just as Bakugou had said.

_I need to aim for the top!_

* * *

**A/N: The first round of the sports festival begins next chapter! How will Hitomi do~?**


	11. A Mad Dash For First Place

**A/N: This is by far the longest chapter, coming in at around 1944 words. O.O**

**The sports festival is officially starting! How do you guys think Hitomi will do?**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 11] Add ****/21fslqfujiro to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi heard Present Mic announcing their class as they stepped out into the sunlight.

The large crowd made Hitomi tense up, feeling overwhelmed with the massive amount of attention.

_It's being broadcasted on TV, too…_

A loud crack was heard, revealing the pro hero Midnight standing on a stage. Some of the boys commented on her outfit, before Midnight shushed them.

"Representing the students is Katsuki Bakugou from Class 1-A!"

"Wha-?! It's Kacchan?" Midoriya exclaimed.

"Must be because he placed first in the entrance exam," Sero replied.

The stadium was silent as Bakugou trudged up to the microphone, as if holding their breath.

"I pledge—

That I'll be number one."

All of Class 1-A gaped at him, all thinking the same thing:

_I knew he'd do that!_

All the other classes booed at Bakugou as Iida tried to lecture him, but Bakugou simply ignored their cries and said, "At least become a nice bouncy step for me to jump off of."

Hitomi watched as he walked off the stage, in utter disbelief that he'd make such a bold declaration in front of all of Japan.

The large screens around the stadium made a beep noise, showing the words "First Game" as Midnight called for everyone's attention.

"Now, let's get started right away!

The first game is what you'd call a qualifier!

Every year, many drink their tears here!"

_I hope that won't be me…_

"Now, here is the first fateful game!"

A large screen was projected behind Midnight, displaying something akin to a slot machine, before stopping on the words "Obstacle Race".

"This year, it's this…!"

Midnight went on to explain the rules of the obstacle race, saying it was a lap around the stadium and that anything goes as long as you stayed on the course.

The crowd cheered as Midnight ushered the classes to the starting line, which was a large red gate leading out of the stadium.

Hitomi felt her nerves flare up as the three green lights at the top of the door lit up.

A light turned off as Hitomi looked around her.

_Everyone is watching._

Another light went off.

_Aim for the top._

The third light shut off.

"START!"

Every single student ran towards the gate as Hitomi heard Present Mic start his commentary with Aizawa. The crowd started to get dense as Hitomi tried to get through, only to find that no one could move forward.

The hallway was too narrow.

Students pushed and elbowed each other, reminding Hitomi of when the media broke in, only this time much worse.

She felt herself get elbowed in the back before the temperature seemed to drop drastically behind her.

A freezing gust of wind blew past Hitomi as she was nearing the exit, the wind forming ice along the walls and the floor.

The ground ahead of her got coated in ice as she realized Todoroki was running past.

Noticing the people around her stopped moving, she tried to run after him only to find she couldn't move her feet.

Some people had gotten their feet frozen to the ground from Todoroki's attack, and Hitomi turned out to be one of them.

_SHIT!_

She saw her classmates advancing when she heard Bakugou's screams, and realized she needed to act fast if she wanted to qualify for the next round.

Trying to calm herself, she focused on forming force fields around her iced feet. Concentrating on creating denser force fields, steam started to rise from the ice as the air around it superheated.

_Just focus on getting out first._

The ice continued to melt from the hot air Hitomi's quirk created, before she was finally able to break her feet out of the ice.

Steadying herself atop Todoroki's ice, she saw Midoriya and Uraraka a ways away.

_Just trying to run or walk on the ice directly isn't going to cut it._

_Aim for the top!_

Hitomi made a small force field platform by her feet, extending it about five feet in front of her to make a small path. Tentatively setting her feet on it, she tested her weight on it to make sure it stayed several inches above Todoroki's ice.

_This will work._

Hitomi then broke out into a run, extending the path to always be five feet long in front of her while the rest of the path behind her dissipated.

She was fast approaching Midoriya, finally bypassing him as he cried out.

"Kanetsukabe-san?!"

She continued to run forward, dropping her force field path when Todoroki's ice ended.

The sight in front of her made her halt.

It was the faux villains from the entrance exam.

There were way more than she would've expected, and she could see the gargantuan zero-pointers a distance away.

There was a large crowd of students all staring at the faux villains, and Hitomi heard Present Mic call it "Robo Inferno".

Todoroki was closest to the zero pointers at the very front of the crowd, causing one of the ginormous robots to charge at him.

The temperature dropped rapidly, a telltale sign Todoroki had activated his quirk, and Hitomi watched in shock as Todoroki singlehandedly immobilized the zero pointer in ice.

She stayed back as people tried to run through the mist past the robot, already noticing it start to fall over.

_That's underhanded, Todoroki-san!_

Present Mic's commentary permeated throughout the stadium, complimenting Todoroki's skill as the robot fell over, creating a large cloud of dust.

Students stared at the mess Todoroki left behind, before someone shouted, "Hey! Someone's trapped underneath!"

"Wouldn't that kill them?"

"Will people _die_ at this sports festival?!"

Hitomi stared in worry until noticing movement near the top of the debris, before bright red spiky hair jumped out.

"Like I'd die!"

_Kirishima!_

There was more movement in the debris next to Kirishima, until the boy from Class B Hitomi saw two weeks ago emerged.

"That Class A really is filled with bastards!"

Hitomi watched as the two boys ran across the large robot, noticing Kirishima's tears over the Class B boy's similar quirk.

She heard an explosion behind her, looking up to see Bakugou and two of her other classmates go over the robot.

_I can't waste time!_

Hitomi launched force fields at the smaller faux villains, destroying them as she ran past. As she was approaching the zero pointers, large explosions sounded near the top, leading to the zero pointers to fall over. Hitomi turned around and see Yaoyorozu had made a cannon behind her, before turning back to face the course.

_The path is clear!_

She continued to run forward, stopping as she approached the edge of a cliff. Rock platforms were connected by several tightropes, and the drop was so steep it made Hitomi's stomach turn. Present Mic introduced it as "The Fall".

Her classmates had gathered around her, before Tsuyu leapt from the cliff, making a large jump and landing on one of the ropes.

A laugh sounded behind Hitomi, the voice sounding oddly familiar. She, Uraraka, and Mina, who had been standing next to her, turned around to see a face Hitomi recognized.

"It's you...!"

It was Mei Hatsume, the girl in the Development Studio who had wanted Hitomi to be her guinea pig.

She was decked out in support items from head to toe, proudly explaining how the support course was allowed to have items they invented themselves.

A grappling hook shot out from the pack Hatsume was wearing on her back, catching onto one of the sides of the rock platforms before pulling the girl with the help of hover boots she was wearing. Dust billowed behind her, causing Hitomi and the others to shield their faces before seeing Hatsume had already made it halfway across the terrain, her laughs echoing through the air.

_I can't fall behind!_

The blue-haired girl turned to Uraraka and Mina, giving them a sheepish smile as her pupils glowed. "Sorry guys, I'll be going ahead."

"Hitomi-chan?!"

Hitomi made another path across the cliff to a platform, the same way she had with Todoroki's ice.

_Crawling is too slow._

She heard Present Mic's voice as she stepped on. "What's this?! Hitomi Kanetsukabe from Class A has made her own path across the Fall, ignoring the ropes entirely!"

Hitomi proceeded to run across the chasm, seeing Todoroki and Bakugou had made it far ahead of everyone else, already at the end of the second obstacle. As her force field behind her disappeared, her other classmates followed behind her, crossing the terrain with their quirks and making it to the other side.

Hitomi had finally crossed the chasm, hearing Present Mic's voice again as she continued to run through the course. "And now, we've quickly arrived at the final barrier. The reality here is…

THAT IT'S A MINEFIELD!

It's set up so that you can tell where the mines are if you look carefully! So you have to exploit your eyes and legs!"

_Is first place already there?!_

Hitomi stopped as she finally reached the minefield, seeing other people had started to navigate through the bombs.

Students set off mines ahead of her, creating pink smoke in the air.

_I'm really going to be pulling the same trick this entire race, aren't I?_

Present Mic announced there was someone new in the lead as Hitomi made another path, extending it in front of her again as she made her way across the minefield. She passed the people around her, seeing Todoroki and Bakugou fighting up ahead.

"Oi, oi! Kanetsukabe's using her force fields again to cross the minefield and is gaining ground on our two leads!"

Hitomi continued to run towards them, before a large explosion behind her made her stop. She turned around to see a huge cloud of pink smoke, struggling to keep herself steady as the wind blew.

From her place on the minefield, she saw the faint outline of a person emerge from the smoke, sailing through the air on what looked to be a piece of the faux villains' armor.

She'd recognize that curly green hair anywhere.

Present Mic was freaking out in his commentary, announcing, "Was it an accident, or did he do it on purpose? Class A's Midoriya is in hot pursuit with that blast!"

Midoriya continued to sail through the air, flying over Hitomi and even Todoroki and Bakugou.

"Actually, he's taken the lead!"

Bakugou set off a large explosion, flying after Midoriya while Todoroki made ice over the mines to run after the two of them.

As Hitomi chased after them, she saw Midoriya rapidly approach the ground as the two boys caught up with him, before planting his feet on their shoulders and smacking the piece of armor onto the ground.

_So that's his plan…!_

A large explosion went off, creating a smokescreen that hid the boys from view.

Hitomi charged after them, some other students following her through the pink smoke.

As she was approaching the hallway that led back to the inside of the stadium, she heard Present Mic's voice.

"Eraser Head, your class is amazing! What're you teaching them?!"

"I didn't teach them anything. They got each other fired up all in their own."

Hitomi ran towards the entrance of the stadium, the footsteps of Midoriya, Todoroki and Bakugou echoing through the hallway up ahead.

Hearing Present Mic announcing Midoriya was first place caused Hitomi to speed up, as she heard the footsteps of other students hot on her tail.

Two students she guessed were from Class B slowly overtook her, and she heard Iida's engines close behind her as she stepped out into the sunlight of the stadium.

She had finished the obstacle course.

* * *

**A/N: Since Hitomi finished the race relatively quickly, that means the entire roster has been moved down one place. It also means the one that was in 42nd place didn't make it, so...**

**Sorry Aoyama ;-;**


	12. Cavalry Battle

**A/N: Remember how I said the obstacle course was the longest chapter? Well, that was a lie. This chapter's even longer.**

**Also, I realized I never properly explained Hitomi's quirk, and why it heats up, but I promise that will be explained in the chapter after the next one.**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 12] Add ****/2sx27obpxma to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi was trying to catch her breath when she heard voices calling her name.

"Hitomi!"

She turned to see Kirishima, Mina, and Sero running towards her.

"Hitomi, you little cheat!" Kirishima exclaimed.

"Ch-cheat?!"

Mina clenched her fists in frustration. "Using your force fields like that, I bet you didn't struggle at all!"

Kaminari ran a hand through his hair as he approached. "Yeah, you hardly had any trouble with the obstacles…"

Hitomi sweatdropped, holding her hands up in apology. "Well, Midnight said anything was allowed, so I just did what would help me get through the course faster… I mean, at least I didn't freeze people to the ground, right?"

"Yeah, that Todoroki…" Sero started, "I thought he was already amazing during the battle training, but he froze an entire zero pointer like it was no problem. That's a recommended student for you…"

The conversation drifted off as Midnight called for everyone's attention. "The first game for the first-year stage is over! Now, take a look at the results!"

Hitomi's eyes glazed over the scoreboard, finding a picture of her by her placement.

_6th place…! That's a lot better than I would've expected…_

"The top 42 made it through the next round. It's unfortunate, but don't worry even if you didn't make it! We've prepared other chances for you to shine.

The real competition begins next! The press cavalry'll be all over it!

Now then, here is the second game."

The projection behind Midnight started the slot machine animation again as she said, "I already know what it is, but what could it be? What could it be?"

Hitomi held her breath as the animation continued before stopping on the words "Cavalry Battle".

_Cavalry battle…?_

Midnight gave an introduction of the game, where people could be in teams of two to four and were assigned point values based on who was on the team.

"Points assigned go up by five starting from the bottom. So 42nd place gets 5 points, and 41st gets ten points!"

_So I have… 185 points!_

"And the point value assigned to first place is…

10 MILLION!"

Midoriya went stock still.

Everyone turned to him, intimidating waves radiating off of them.

Midnight looked at the crowd, a satisfied smile on her face. "That's right. It's survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"

* * *

Midnight gave everyone 15 minutes to form teams, causing the crowd of students to disperse.

…

All of Class A seemed to gravitate towards Bakugou, begging him to be on their team.

Hitomi looked around aimlessly, seeing teams start to form already.

A lot of Class B already had their teams formed, which meant Hitomi had to find some of her own classmates to team up with.

She had been hoping to be on a team with Kirishima, but he had rushed off to somewhere before she could ask him.

Those in her class who seemed to give up on trying to be on a team with Bakugou were in small groups, seemingly discussing strategies for the cavalry battle. She wasn't familiar enough with a lot of them to muster up the courage to ask to be on a team with them, and ended up standing there by herself as the minutes ticked by.

_Maybe I could be on Midoriya's team, and help protect his points for him…_

As she was about to go look for the curly-haired boy, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you."

* * *

_A few minutes earlier…_

Hatsume had officially joined Midoriya's team, leaving the boy to rethink his strategy for the cavalry battle.

Midoriya explained his current plan to his team, before the green-haired boy turned to Uraraka, his other teammate. "Thanks to your zero gravity and Hatsume's support items, we've solved the question of mobility. The last thing we need to take care of is…"

The two pointed at each other, realizing the same thing.

"Defense."

Midoriya continued. "And the best person for that is…"

Uraraka put her hands together in excitement. "Ah, Hitomi-chan!"

Midoriya nodded. "Yup. We just need to find her and hope she hasn't joined another team…"

Uraraka looked around, searching for Hitomi's standout blue hair.

She spotted her a distance away, starting to walk somewhere. Tapping Midoriya's shoulder, Uraraka pointed at her. "Look, there she is! She looks like she's alone; I don't think she's joined a team yet."

Midoriya was about to walk towards her before he noticed something.

Hitomi was following the boy with purple hair from two weeks ago.

"Uraraka-san, I think she already has a team…"

"Really?" Uraraka glanced back to where Hitomi was, her face falling when she saw she was following the other boy. "Oh…"

Midoriya gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Uraraka-san… there's someone else I have in mind that I think can help us…"

* * *

Hitomi felt like she had woken up from a fever dream when she felt something hit her back.

She felt a weight on her right arm, and realized she was holding someone's foot with her left hand.

_When did I…?_

She looked up to see a head of purple hair, realizing the person it belonged to was tying a headband with the number "460" around their forehead.

Hitomi snapped to the sound of Present Mic's voice, announcing the cavalry battle was about to begin.

_What?! There was supposed to be about 7 minutes left to form teams, unless..._

Realization dawned on her as she stared at the boy she was keeping steady.

Somehow, without her realizing, he had gotten her to join her team without her ever agreeing.

_A quirk that can control people doesn't seem implausible…_

She looked to see who else was on her team, noticing she was gripping the shoulder of a boy with ice blue hair who she assumed was from Class B. Ojiro turned out to be standing next to her, and she realized his tail was probably what jolted her awake.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed his eyes seemed glazed over, his pupils turned white.

It was as if he were a robot.

_So then, that boy really did mind-control us…_

She thought back to how she got here, recalling when someone had approached her.

* * *

_Earlier…_

A violet haired boy placed his hand on Hitomi's shoulder, the girl seemingly about to walk off to find a team.

"Hey, you."

The girl turned in surprise, the voice sounding somewhat familiar to her. They locked eyes for a moment before she replied.

"Ah, yes?"

That was when the world went blank.

* * *

Hitomi was brought back to reality when she heard Present Mic counting down from three.

"START!"

The teams around them charged, all running towards a specific spot. Hitomi looked over to see what what they were aiming for, recognizing curly green hair.

_Midoriya's team!_

She heard a voice above her, recognizing the tired tone. "Now then, let's try and go for the ten million."

Ojiro and the Class B boy broke into a run, Hitomi stumbling to keep up with them.

_They're doing exactly as he says…_

"..."

This team wasn't her own choice.

She was aiming for the top, of course, but if she had to be brainwashed to do it, then what was the point?

She glanced up at her team's rider, contemplating.

This wasn't how she wanted to win.

_I'm not sure how exactly his quirk works, but if I went under after I responded and not from looking at him, then…_

"If you brainwash me again, I won't hesitate to throw you off and make us lose."

Her team stopped as the indigo-eyed rider turned back to her in surprise.

"When did you-?!"

Hitomi only glared at him, her mouth zipped shut.

The other teams were making a large commotion, all aiming for Midoriya's points as Hitomi's team stayed behind.

She slowly loosened her grip on the Class B boy's shoulder, her arm starting to fall under the purple-haired boy's weight.

He started to slip off, before someone snatched his headband.

"Hey!" Hitomi cried out.

Hitomi looked to see a boy with straight blonde hair twirling her team's headband around his finger, a condescending smirk on his face. "What're you standing around for? This is a competition, you know."

His team then ran off, the blonde giving one last wave.

Hitomi tightened her grip on her teammate's shoulder, speaking up as the rider straightened himself. "I know you brainwashed me, and if you do it again I'll throw you off and make us lose. You're looking to get into the hero course with this festival, aren't you? Since you're in Gen Ed."

The boy sighed, running a hand through his hair as he felt Hitomi's glare bore into him. "Fine, you caught me. And you can relax, I'm not stupid enough to risk you making me lose my chance."

Hitomi was silent for a moment before her face broke into a small smile. "Good! First of all, what's your name...?"

"Hitoshi Shinsou. No need to tell me yours; I already made you do it."

Hitomi felt a little annoyed at that. "So, are you going to let our other two teammates free, or…?"

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?! They deserve to be aware of what they're doing!

...I'm going to throw you off if you don't."

"I doubt they'd be nice enough like you are to listen to me. Besides, you're actually the one I needed to worry about the least to control. You're here for insurance, these two are my offense."

"Huh?!"

Shinsou sighed again, observing the other teams.

"Look, I'm only doing this because nobody here would be willing to trust some Gen Ed kid who seems to know nothing about heroics, let alone someone with a quirk like mine."

Hitomi's eyes widened, realizing she had done just that.

Now she felt guilty.

"It's better if I keep these two directly under control. I need them to do exactly as I say in order to gather points to qualify for the next round, and once we do, I need you to protect them until the cavalry battle is over. If I let them go now, there's no way they'd be willing to listen to me.

...You want to win, don't you?"

"Of course I do, but…"

"So do I. This is really important to me, so please, just try and trust me."

Hitomi looked at him, thinking back to what he'd said.

_Nobody would trust someone with a quirk like mine._

If she'd done just that, how many others had before her?

His quirk wasn't suited for the entrance exam, and if he wanted to be in the hero course, this was his best shot at getting noticed.

She huffed, turning to him with a determined look on her face.

"I'm putting my faith in you, Shinsou-san!"

He smirked. "Good."

_Damn empathy._

* * *

Team Tetsutetsu froze, the effects of Shinsou's quirk taking its hold.

Present Mic started counting down from ten; apparently Midoriya's team was making one last effort to take back their ten million points.

Shinsou grabbed the headband Tetsutetsu had around his neck, slipping off the one he wore on his head simultaneously.

Hitomi felt her team stumble, Ojiro knocking shoulders with a girl on Testutetsu's team.

"TIME'S UP!"

Hitomi checked the scoreboard, finding her team in the sea of names.

1100 points.

"Now then, let's see who our top four teams are!" Present Mic said as her team disassembled.

"In first place, Team Todoroki!

In second, Team Bakugou!

In third, Team Tetsu-huh?! Woah! Team Shinsou?!"

Hitomi glanced at the purple-haired boy, crossing her arms as Present Mic continued. "You sure cut it close, Shinsou-san."

The boy gave her a smirk, one last thing he had to say before walking off. "Thanks for your help."

Hitomi huffed, turning back when she heard Ojiro's voice.

"What just happened?!"

* * *

**A/N: If I'm being completely honest, I really want Hitomi and Shinsou to be best friends. Hopefully I can find ways to make them interact more.**


	13. A Secret and an Apology

**A/N: New chapter! :D I wasn't able to draw much until today because I got my wisdom teeth taken out yesterday, but it's here now!**

**I swear, the sports festival has had the longest chapters so far...**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 13] Add ****/21gqvcwt1bxu to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"We'll proceed to the afternoon portion after a one-hour lunch break! See you then!"

The students headed out towards the cafeteria, Uraraka grabbing Hitomi once she exited the 1-A prep room.

She felt a vibration in her pocket, pulling out her phone to see she was getting a phone call.

"Uraraka, I'll be at the lunchroom in a bit. I'm gonna find someplace more quiet."

Uraraka nodded, before turning to follow her other friends to leave the stadium.

…

Hitomi walked through the quiet halls, answering her phone and holding it up to her ear.

"Hey."

"HITOMI!" Nari's loud voice rang through the speakers, Hitomi having to pull her phone back to save her eardrums.

"Woah, woah, Nari, no need to yell…"

"We're all at your house watching the sports festival! I saw you on the TV! You're moving on to the last round, huh~?"

"Ah, yeah. I was almost afraid we wouldn't make it, since my team's leader said to wait for the right moment. It was nerve wracking…"

"Well, you still made it! You're going to do great at the last round, I know it."

Hitomi heard the faint sound of her mother's voice on Nari's end.

"Ah, sorry Hitomi! Your mom wants me to help prepare lunch; I need to go now. See you on the TV!"

"Mm. Bye."

Nari then hung up, prompting Hitomi to put her phone away. She was approaching a stadium exit, deciding to leave through there and go around to the lunchroom instead of walking all the way back.

She tried not to wonder why Bakugou was standing against the wall, about to turn the corner before he grabbed her arm.

"Hey-!"

Bakugou covered her mouth, glaring at her as he pulled her close.

"Quiet." His voice was barely above a whisper. Hitomi shoved his hand off her face, about to retort before she heard voices by the exit.

"...why are you telling me all of this?"

_Midoriya?_

"Quirk 've heard of them, right?"

_Todoroki? What are they…_

Todoroki was explaining the history of quirk marriage.

"...with his wealth and fame, my father made my mother's family agree to the marriage."

Hitomi's eyes widened.

"All to get his hands on her quirk."

She really shouldn't be hearing this.

Todoroki continued, before he said something that made Hitomi's heart stop.

"I remember my mom was always crying. 'Your left side is unsightly,' she said, before pouring boiling water on me."

She _really_ shouldn't be hearing this.

"In short, not using my left side against you was revenge on him. Never using my rotten father's quirk…

No…

By rising to the top _without_ using it…

...I'll have denied him everything."

* * *

The walk back to the cafeteria was silent between Bakugou and Hitomi from everything they'd just heard.

_Poor Todoroki, having all that pressure pushed onto him…_

"Damn half-and-half…"

Hitomi glanced at the boy walking in front of her, before the loud chatter of the cafeteria caught her attention.

"Hitomi-chan!"

Uraraka was waving at her from her table, a tray of pork cutlet sandwiches next to her own empty tray.

Hitomi stopped by her table, taking the empty seat next to the brunette. "Hey… you got me food?"

"Well, yeah, since the line was really long and you'd probably be happy to come back to a meal instead of waiting for a while."

"Oh… thank you."

"Well, you'll have to eat quick! Apparently the girls are gonna be doing a cheer battle in the afternoon."

Hitomi choked on her food, coughing as Uraraka patted her back.

"Um, what?"

"Well, apparently Aizawa said we'll be doing a cheer battle against the cheerleaders UA flew in from America…"

* * *

Hitomi stood out on the field with the other girls from Class 1-A, dressed in a cheerleader costume with pom poms and everything.

Present Mic's voice was heard over the loudspeaker. "Huh?"

A horrible feeling wrenched in Hitomi's gut as realization dawned on her.

"What's the matter, Class A? What kind of fan service is that?!"

Yaoyorozu cried out in frustration. "Mineta-san, Kaminari-san! You tricked us, didn't you?!"

The two boys were a distance away, sharing a thumbs up.

_Ah._

_So that's how it was._

Yaoyorozu fell to the ground in shame while Uraraka tried to comfort her. "Why am I always caught up in Mineta's schemes? I even used Creation to make the outfits…"

"Those guys are so dumb!" Jirou said as she threw her pom poms to the ground.

Tooru Hagakure's invisible arms waved her pom poms in the air. "Well, there's still time before the finals, and it'd be bad if things got tense."

The girls felt a dark aura behind them.

Fearing what was behind them, they slowly turned around, only to find Hitomi gripping her pom poms with a wry smile on her face.

"Hitomi-chan…?" Mina was almost too afraid to ask.

The bluenette's pom poms fell to the ground, the girl flashing a smile at the others before walking past them.

Jirou turned to Tooru in worry.

"I think it's too late for that…"

Hitomi approached the boys that had tricked them, the two not noticing her presence.

Without warning, she smacked the two of them in the back of the head, that wry smile still on her face.

The two boys cradled their heads in pain, turning around to find Hitomi walking back towards the girls.

"I don't think I've ever seen her angry before…"

* * *

Present Mic called for everyone's attention, announcing that after the recreational games a one-on-one tournament with the top 16 from the previous round would take place.

Midnight called for everyone to draw lots to decide the bracket.

"Now, from the first place team-"

"Um…! Excuse me." Ojiro had his hand raised in the air.

"I'm withdrawing."

Everyone cried out in surprise, wondering why Ojiro would want to drop out when he'd made it this far.

Hitomi could make a guess on why.

She placed a hand on Ojiro's shoulder, looking at him with concern. "Ojiro, this is your chance for pros to see you. You may not make it this far next year…"

Ojiro let his hand fall to his side, looking at Hitomi with a furrowed expression on his face. "I barely remember anything from the cavalry battle until almost the end."

Hitomi recoiled.

"I think it was that guy's quirk.

I know that this is a great chance, and that it's foolish to waste it…"

"Ojiro…"

"But— everyone here competed by giving their all. I can't… I can't be up there with everyone without knowing what really happened."

Hitomi was silent as the others tried to reassure him. Ojiro ignored them, covering his face in shame.

"That's not it… I'm talking about my pride here… I can't…"

_Ojiro…_

The Class B boy with icy blue hair stepped forward. "I'm Nirengeki Shoda from Class B. I also want to withdraw for the same reason.

Regardless of ability, don't you think it goes against the goal of this sports festival for those who didn't do anything to move on to the final round?"

The air was tense as everyone awaited Midnight's answer.

"Youthful talk like that is something…

...I like!

Shoda! Ojiro! I accept your withdrawal!"

* * *

Hitomi grabbed the two boys as lots were being drawn.

"What did you want to tell us, Kanetsukabe-san?"

"Um, that is…" Hitomi bent over in a deep bow, staring at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"Eh?"

"I… I knew."

"You… what?"

Hitomi straightened herself, unable to look them in the eye.

"At the beginning of the cavalry battle, I was mind-controlled too, until your tail hit me in the back… I could've tried to wake you guys up, but I decided to trust Shinsou-san's judgement…

...Maybe that wasn't the best choice."

Hitomi bowed again, guilty over her decision to stay in the tournament while her teammates gave their spots up. "I'm sorry…!"

She felt hot shame as she stared at the ground, before Ojiro placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's alright."

Hitomi looked up in surprise, finding the boys were giving her melancholy smiles. "What?"

"It's not your fault we were mind-controlled," Shoda said. "Besides, if you wanted our team to win, it would've been hard trying to explain what happened while the cavalry battle was going on, wouldn't it?"

"But that's-!"

Ojiro interrupted her. "Seriously, Kanetsukabe-san, don't worry about it. I know you're not a malicious person. If you thought trusting our rider was the best choice in order to move on to the next round, we won't fault you for that."

"But..."

Midnight's voice echoed through the stadium. "And so, Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki have moved up to make sixteen! This is the bracket based on the results of the drawing!"

Shoda looked back at Hitomi. "You should go."

"Ah, yeah..." She bowed to them one last time in apology, before turning to join the others.

"Ah, Kanetsukabe-san!"

Hitomi stopped, looking over her shoulder. "Yes?"

Ojiro smiled at her. "Make sure you win for us, okay?"

Hitomi nodded, shooting them a determined smile before turning back around.

"Right!"

* * *

**A/N: One-on-one battles are beginning next chapter! Who do you think Hitomi will be up against~?**


	14. Hitomi vs Mina

**A/N: God, what am I doing with my life, I could've gone to sleep by now hhhhh...**

**The first one-on-one battle is here! :D I spent a lot of time on the drawing for this chapter, as it's more polished and akin to a fake screenshot, so I suggest you check it out. Links in my bio!**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 14] Add ****/01gfpbhqzk3t to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi's silver eyes scanned the bracket, finding her name in the second half of the of the preliminary rounds.

_Ashido v. Kanetsukabe._

"Hey, Hitomi-chan, no hard feelings no matter who wins, right?"

Hitomi looked to her left to find Mina standing next to her.

"Of course not!" She said, a mischievous smile on her face.

* * *

Hitomi stood by Yaoyorozu, her arms crossed in stubbornness as she watched the other girls cheer during the recreational activities.

_Oh boy, Toku and Nari are definitely gonna make fun of me for this when I get home…_

"How are you holding up, Kanetsukabe-san?"

"Hm? Oh… definitely full of anxiety. How about you? Well, you'll probably do great at your match, since it's you…"

Yaoyorozu was shaking her pom poms lightly, still slightly embarrassed over falling for Mineta's prank. "Thank you for your compliments. I just hope I can manage against Tokoyami-san's quirk, since I'm not completely sure how it works yet…"

"Well, I suppose in this case it's best to expect the unexpected, so you can kind of prepare yourself? Sorry, I'm not the best at dishing out battle advice…"

Yaoyorozu smiled. "No, it's quite helpful, actually. Thank you. If we both make it to the next round, no ill will between us, right…?"

"Of course not. You already beat me at the battle training, and I wasn't mad at you then. Why would I be now?"

"Well, scouts will be watching…"

"To be honest Yaoyorozu, I didn't think I'd make it this far in the first place. The fact that I made it to the last round at all is kind of enough for me. I'm already exhausted at the thought of me being broadcasted to all of Japan…"

Yaoyorozu made a small laugh. "I bet you've been very entertaining to watch so far, especially with your performance during the obstacle course…"

* * *

Hitomi was in Waiting Room #2, back in her gym clothes and pacing around the room.

_Deep breaths…_

Hitomi tried to calm her beating heart before she squatted to the ground, cradling her face in her hands. "Oh, what am I thinking?! I can't do this…"

"_Next contestants, please proceed to the field entrance. Repeat…"_

"Wha-?! Now?"

_Well, that last match _did _take pretty long…_

She sighed, getting up and leaving the room.

As she approached the sunlight of the stadium, she put a hand on the elastic band holding her hair.

_It's okay. I have Nari's lucky charm with me…_

The crowd cheered as Hitomi and Mina approached the stage, Present Mic announcing their arrival.

"For this next matchup, we've got two girls from Class A! They've both made impressive performances so far!

Is something gonna come out of those horns of hers? From the hero course, it's Mina Ashido!

Versus…

The one who completely bypassed the obstacles in the obstacle course! From the hero course, Hitomi Kanetsukabe!"

Hitomi soaked in the warm air as the fire pillars by the stage ignited, Mina's voice sounding across the stage.

"Don't hold back, okay, Hitomi-chan?"

Hitomi smiled back at her, tightening her hair tie.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"START!"

Hitomi charged, forming force fields along her arms and launching them at Mina.

_It's bad to stay near the edge of the ring against someone like Ashido._

The pink girl narrowly dodged Hitomi's assault, using her acid to maneuver around the stage.

She skated around more of Hitomi's force fields, twisting her body around to avoid getting hit.

She drew near the silver-eyed girl, acid secreting from her palms.

"Let's see how well your barriers hold up against my acid!"

Mina threw the dissolving substance at Hitomi just as the blue-haired girl put up a wall. The acid seemed to have no effect, slowly disappearing as steam rose from the liquid.

"Wha-?! It's evaporating?!"

Hitomi pushed the wall forward in an attempt to push Mina out, the horned girl sliding out of the way just in time.

The two stared at each other from opposite ends of the ring, at a standstill.

"My Quirk superheats the air," Hitomi said, "and makes plasma for my force fields. So any liquid that touches it evaporates on contact."

"Eh?! Wouldn't that burn you?!"

Hitomi shook her head as the two circled each other. "Not exactly. There's a solidification factor to my quirk that can contain the heat to my force fields, so I can choose whether heat radiates from it or not."

The pink-haired girl's eyes narrowed as they continued to circle each other.

"Then, in that case…"

_Now!_ Mina thought.

She suddenly dashed forward, using her acid and nearing Hitomi much faster than she had before.

Before Hitomi could react, Mina was already right in front of her.

"Sorry for this, Hitomi-chan!"

The pink girl swung her fist, punching Hitomi square in the jaw.

Time seemed to slow down as the bluenette started to fall backwards, the girl noticing the white lines of the ring.

Her eyes widened in realization.

_She was waiting for me to get close to the boundary line!_

Hitomi continued to fall, her body starting to fall out of bounds.

_No…_

_I won't lose!_

A blue glow emanated from her face, and within less than a second, Hitomi created a force field directly behind her back to stop her fall. At the same time, she created a large wall next to Mina as she was following through on her punch.

The wall suddenly pushed Mina, the pink girl getting thrown past the boundary line and off the stage to the grass below.

Midnight raised her left arm, aimed at Hitomi's side of the arena.

"Ashido is out of bounds! Kanetsukabe advances to the next round!"

* * *

**A/N: Hitomi's quirk is finally properly(kind of) explained! I never really found a good chance to explain how Hitomi's quirk worked, so I kinda just threw it in there. Hopefully it makes sense.**

**Also, have y'all noticed Hitomi's started dropping some of the honorifics she uses with her classmates? She's gettin' more comfy with them :3c**


	15. Do Your Best, Everyone!

**A/N: Mostly just a filler chapter this time...**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 15] Add ****/02b8wvb1kiaf to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi sat still as Recovery Girl placed some gauze on Hitomi's cheek.

"I've stopped the swelling for now, so leave it alone until your next match, okay?"

Hitomi nodded as she got up to leave. "Mm. Thank you, Recovery Girl."

The bluenette tentatively placed a hand on the gauze as she walked back to the 1-A stands, recalling Mina's punch.

_I never expected her to hit me so hard…_

_..._

When she got to the stands, she took the seat on Midoriya's right in the front row.

"Great job on your match, Kanetsukabe-san!"

"Hey… Thanks."

Hitomi looked at the ring to find it was empty.

"Have they not started the next match yet?"

"Oh, no… it's already over."

"What? Really?!"

"Yeah… Tokoyami-kun didn't give Yaoyorozu-san any time to create much, and he knocked her out of bounds. It was over pretty quickly…"

"Oh no… I missed it…"

Midoriya rose up from his seat, giving Hitomi a sheepish smile. "Well, I'm gonna go… I'll be back in a bit."

"Where are you going?"

Hitomi noticed the boy's cheeks turn a slight red. "Um… I'm going to see Uraraka-san before her match…"

_Ah._

"Oh. Okay then. Your seat will be waiting for you."

She waved as Midoriya left, turning back to the the ring when Present Mic announced Kirishima and Tetsutetsu would be next.

* * *

Hitomi covered her mouth in shock as Uraraka charged again at Bakugou. She'd continually taken all of the boy's explosions, smoke covering a majority of the stage.

_Does she even have a plan?_

She watched as Uraraka was thrown back again by Bakugou's quirk, more smoke covering the ring.

Hitomi winced, before noticing movement near the top of the smoke.

As her eyes trailed upwards, she saw debris from the stage floating in the air.

_I see…_

Uraraka had been taking all the hits to set up a distraction in the sky.

The crowd had started booing at Bakugou, not noticing the floating debris as Present Mic's commentary halted for Aizawa to take over instead.

Uraraka's voice rang through the stadium as the smoke cleared.

"I'M GONNA WIN!"

The brunette touched her fingertips together, the rubble in the sky coming shooting down.

Hitomi watched in awe as Uraraka ran towards Bakugou in the chaos, feeling guilt over doubting her.

_I'm sorry I underestimated you, Uraraka…_

From her seat in the stands, she could see Bakugou begin to raise his arm towards the meteor storm.

_There's no way he's going to-_

BOOM!

A huge explosion erupted from Bakugou's palm, blowing back the falling debris as the wind blew.

Uraraka was thrown back from the force of the wind, ending up on the other side of the stage.

The girl sprang up, ready to attack again, before her body fell to the ground.

Midnight ran onto the stage to check up on her before announcing, "Uraraka is unable to continue. Bakugou moves on to the second round."

* * *

Midoriya had left again to head to the waiting rooms for his next match. He was in the first bracket for the second round, going up against Todoroki.

As Present Mic announced their arrival, Hitomi recalled what she'd heard with Bakugou in the corridor.

_My father made my mother's family agree to the marriage._

_All to get his hands on her quirk._

She had been amazed at Todoroki's quirk, but never even considered what it had taken for him to have it.

What had he gone through to be here right now?

…

Hitomi felt the hot air as flames erupted from Todoroki's left side.

"SHOUTO!"

Hitomi looked from the stands to see the No. 2 hero Endeavor approaching the rails, a twisted smile on his face.

"So you've finally accepted it! Excellent! It all starts for you now. With my blood pumping through your veins, you will surpass me and fulfill my ambitions!"

_What was this man saying?_

This hero was spouting off nonsense about his son fulfilling _his_ own desires, _his_ own ambitions, instead of cheering for his son to win this festival.

_Todoroki has to live with this…?_

Hitomi saw Endeavor in a new light.

Glancing back at the fight, she saw Midoriya was smiling in the face of Todoroki's power.

Todoroki launchd an ice attack at Midoriya, the freckled boy jumping over it at an overwhelming speed towards Todoroki.

_But his body's too messed up!_

From the sides of the stage, she saw Midnight and Cementoss about to intervene as Todoroki launched a fire attack.

There was a huge flash of an explosion, wind blowing all throughout the arena that Shouji had to hold Mineta to keep the small boy from blowing away.

The steam that had formed from Todoroki's attacks started to disappear, revealing the aftermath.

Midoriya was slumped against the wall of the stadium, out of bounds.

He had lost.

* * *

Hitomi decided not to go with Uraraka and the others to see Midoriya, figuring there was already more than enough people clambering to see him.

He probably wanted some space after a loss like that.

...

Hitomi started to fidget in her seat as they fixed the stage for Iida's match, as after that it would be her turn.

Her leg was bouncing, the girl gripping her pants before she felt a hand on her back.

"Hey, Hitomi, you doing okay…?"

Kirishima was trying to comfort her.

"Ah, yeah, I'm fine… Actually, I should head to the waiting room now; I don't know how long Iida's match will take this time…"

She got up from her seat, trying to speed walk out of the stands before Kirishima called after her.

"You'll do great, Hitomi!"

The girl looked at him, a worried smile on her face.

"Right…"

* * *

The bluenette was pacing around the waiting room again, a lot more nervous than before.

She'd been calmer during her previous match because she didn't believe she would even win anyway, but now that she was two matches away from the finals the pressure was suffocating.

If she beat Tokoyami, and Kirishima lost his match…

She'd have to fight Bakugou.

* * *

**A/N: Are those hints of IzuOcha I see? :3c**


	16. Hitomi vs Tokoyami

**A/N: HECK YEAH TWO UPDATES IN ONE NIGHT!**

**Second one-on-one battle is here! If I'm being honest, I really don't think I'm that good at writing fights... My writing comes off as repetitive to me...**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 16] Add ****/022gprdkx549 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi stood across the stage from Tokoyami as Present Mic started his countdown.

"START!"

Immediately Tokoyami called out the dark creature living inside him, the shadow lunging for Hitomi.

All she got to see of Tokoyami's quirk was during the battle training and glimpses of it during the cavalry battle, so she decided to keep her distance.

The bluenette launched some force fields at Dark Shadow, but it simply dodged her attacks.

It was fast approaching her, leading Hitomi to put up a force field in front of her right as the shadow hit her barrier.

She pushed the wall forward, pushing the shadow back as she ran towards Tokoyami.

_I shouldn't make the same mistake I did with Ashido by staying near the edge._

Tokoyami's quirk tried to attack Hitomi again, causing the girl to stop and protect herself.

Dark Shadow continued its relentless attacks, leaving Hitomi no room to move forward.

_Tokoyami's trying to keep his distance._

Dark Shadow swung at her again, this time with enough force it pushed her back near the edge of the ring.

_Damn it._

* * *

Uraraka was in the stands, watching Hitomi struggle against Tokoyami. It had been several minutes already, and neither party had managed to bring the other any closer to losing, leaving the two at an impasse.

"Come on, Hitomi-chan…"

A few rows behind her Mina was yelling. "SHOW HIM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF, HITOMI-CHAN!"

Uraraka clenched her fists in worry as Hitomi fell to the ground from a hit from Dark Shadow.

_Figure out his weakness, Hitomi!_

* * *

Tokoyami hardly gave her any time to get back up as Dark Shadow's fists hit Hitomi's force field.

_So this is what Yaoyorozu was up against…_

Present Mic was getting enthusiastic over his commentary. "It looks like Kanetsukabe's struggling against Tokoyami! Is his quirk tooooo strong?!"

Hitomi enclosed the force field she had made around herself before expanding it, trying to put some distance between her and Dark Shadow.

_I'm going to have to try and fight him head on!_

The bluenette charged at Tokoyami again, throwing as many force fields as she could at him and Dark Shadow.

"And now it looks like Kanetsukabe's trying to turn this into a close combat battle!"

Dark Shadow dodged each of them, but as she was running towards the boy she noticed the shadow creature covered its eyes whenever her force fields flew past.

_Dark…_

_Of course!_

Hitomi wanted to facepalm herself for not noticing sooner.

_His quirk is literally called _Dark Shadow_; it only makes sense!_

She stopped in the middle of the ring, leading Tokoyami to send Dark Shadow barreling towards her again.

Hitomi put up another wall, feeling the vibrations from Dark Shadow's hit.

_Now!_

Hitomi concentrated on condensing the barrier, the force field growing hot as she drew in more plasma. She winced as she felt her hands heat up rapidly.

"Eh? I don't know what Kanetsukabe's doing, but it looks like her force field is growing brighter!"

She could see Tokoyami's eyes widen before her force field gave off a blinding flash, hearing Dark Shadow cry out in pain.

_There's my opening!_

Hitomi took her chance to run past Dark Shadow, running towards Tokoyami as she formed a large wall. She threw the barrier at him, pushing him away past the boundary line.

"She used that as a distraction to push Tokoyami out!"

Midnight raised her arm in Hitomi's direction of the ring. "Tokoyami is out of bounds, Kanetsukabe moves on to the next round!"

The crowd cheered as Hitomi panted, cradling her hands from the hotter-than-usual force field she'd made.

Tokoyami was looking at her before he turned towards the stairs. "You figured me out, didn't you?"

Hitomi was rubbing her palms tenderly as she replied. "Ah, yeah… but I kinda hurt my hands in the process; I overdid it this time…"

Tokoyami had a slight smile as he was walking down the stairs.

"It was a good fight."

* * *

Hitomi made a stop by Recovery Girl's office to fix up the first-degree burns on her palms before heading back to the 1-A stands.

On her way there, she saw Midoriya and Iida standing at the terrace at the end of the hallway. She stopped beside them to watch the fight between Kirishima and Bakugou.

"Great job on your match, Kanetsukabe-kun!" Iida said.

Midoriya sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't get to see it…"

"Oh, don't worry Midoriya, it's fine!" Hitomi held up her hands to try to reassure him, before Iida and Midoriya noticed the bandages on her palms.

"What's that?!"

"Hm…? Oh… it's nothing to worry about. My hands are fine, seriously."

"But what happened?" Iida asked.

"Well, that really bright force field I made… I don't know if you could hear me during my fight with Ashido, but my quirk superheats the air and uses plasma for my force fields. That one I used to weaken Dark Shadow condensed a lot of plasma, making it really hot, and I was already kinda overdoing it from all the small force fields I was making along my arms anyway…

But it's fine! Recovery Girl healed me up, and she just put some aloe vera on my hands to make sure they're okay by my next match…"

Midoriya leaned on the railing as he turned back to watch the current fight. "Ahh, I wish I was able to write right now. I wasn't sure how exactly your quirk worked yet, and I could've written it down in my notebook just now…"

"Eh?!"

Iida waved Hitomi off as he explained to her, "He's written down and analyzed the quirks of all his favorite pros and everyone in our class so far. It's quite impressive, you should see it sometime!"

The three turned back to the fight when they heard Bakugou yelling.

The boy started setting off rapid explosions at Kirishima, making Hitomi lean over the railing in worry for her friend.

_Come on, Kirishima…_

"NOW DIE!"

Bakugou set off one last explosion, throwing Kirishima back.

Hitomi could see Kirishima's face contorted in pain, various scratches and slight burns on his face.

As the smoke cleared, she saw his body fall to the ground.

"Kirishima is immobilized!" Midnight said. "Bakugou wins!"

The crowd cheered as Present Mic announced Bakugou would be moving on to the third round.

"And that completes our final four!"

Hitomi felt her stomach drop.

She'd be fighting Bakugou next.

* * *

**A/N: The next one-on-one battle is ... next chapter! Lemme tell you, next chapter I will put in SO MUCH effort into those drawings, because I'm super excited for it. Hopefully I'll be able to draw them up tomorrow!**


	17. Hitomi vs Bakugou

**A/N: Hitomi vs. Bakugou is here! I was so excited about writing this fight, because it's kind of going to kickstart the relationship I want to write between these two. I stayed up reaaally late for the drawings this time, even though I mostly just directly referenced screenshots this time. Check them out, they're really detailed this time!**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 17] Add ****/26ut36xe774 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Instead of pacing around the waiting room, Hitomi sat at the table, fiddling with the band-aids on her palms.

_He's tactical, strong, and relentless._

_Bakugou's not going to hold back._

Hitomi learned that when she watched him fight Uraraka.

She touched her hair tie again, tightening her hair when a voice sounded over the loudspeaker.

"_Next contestants, please proceed to the field entrance. Repeat…"_

Taking a deep breath, Hitomi got up from her seat, throwing the band-aids in the trash as she walked out the door.

* * *

The crowd cheered as Class 1-A watched Hitomi and Bakugou approach the stage.

"Who do you think will win?" Sero asked.

Kaminari crossed his arms as he leaned back in his seat. "I hope it's Hitomi. Unlike Kirishima, her force fields are an emitter type quirk, so she probably can keep them up for longer…"

Kaminari trailed off as he heard Midoriya mumbling in front of him.

"What are you thinking about, Deku-kun?" Uraraka asked.

Midoriya stopped, turning to look at Uraraka.

"Kacchan's going to throw everything he has at her."

He turned back to look at the stage as the two students walked up the steps.

"It'll be hard for Kanetsukabe-san to push him out of bounds like she did with Ashido-san and Tokoyami-kun, because Kacchan's probably just going to use his explosions to keep himself inside the ring.

This match all depends on how Kanetsukabe-san uses her quirk."

* * *

"Match two of the semifinals!" Present Mic announced. "Bakugou versus Kanetsukabe!"

The fire pillars ignited, making Hitomi feel intimidated at the sight of Bakugou illuminated by the flames.

"You've got those force fields, right, Droopy Eyes?" Bakugou said.

_Droopy-?!_

"START!"

Bakugou set off an explosion, wasting no time in getting close to Hitomi.

Immediately she made a force field in front of herself, feeling Bakugou's impact before moving it forward and pushing him away.

Bakugou landed on his feet, clenching his fists.

"So that's how you wanna play, huh?

Fine then."

He came for her again, Hitomi prepping a force field in front of her.

An explosion sounded directly in front of her as smoke formed, confusing her for a moment because she didn't feel any weight on her barrier.

She heard Bakugou's shout behind her, turning abruptly only to feel an explosion in her face as she was slammed into her wall.

_That's the same thing he pulled at the battle training against Midoriya!_

"Eehhh?! Bakugou's using Kanetsukabe's own force fields against her!" Present Mic yelled.

The plasma dissipated as she fell to the ground, before Hitomi decided to throw a force field at Bakugou.

He dodged it in midair, landing a distance away from her.

Hitomi wiped the soot off her mouth as she got up, taking a cautious stance.

_I guess walls as protection aren't going to work against him…_

Hitomi ran at Bakugou, making a large force field and launching it at him.

The boy used an explosion to maneuver out of the way, smoke forming.

As he was about to land, the bluenette launched multiple small force fields at him, hitting him in the gut and throwing him back a few meters.

He still was within the boundary line.

"Woooh, looks like Kanetsukabe got a few good hits in!"

Hitomi charged at Bakugou again as he was steadying himself, prepping force fields to hit him with. Bakugou launched himself out of the way, the smoke building around them as he leapt over her.

"You're full of openings!" he yelled.

He suddenly launched himself towards her, explosions detonating from his palms when he felt contact.

But it didn't feel like a person.

The surface his hand had touched felt flat, causing him to decide to plant his feet on it. As the smoke cleared, Bakugou saw the glow of Hitomi's quirk.

"Woah, it looks like Kanetsukabe's completely covered herself with her force field!"

Instead of forming the usual wall, Hitomi had made a complete dome around herself to prevent Bakugou from attacking her from behind again.

"That quirk of yours..." Bakugou said as he raised his hand, "IS GETTING REALLY FUCKING ANNOYING!"

He swung at Hitomi's barrier, setting off explosion after explosion in an attempt to break it.

Hitomi felt the vibrations of the explosions as Bakugou tried to get to her, smoke blocking her view of the outside.

"STOP HIDING BEHIND YOUR BARRIERS AND FUCKING FIGHT ME YOU DAMN GIRL!"

Placing her hands on the ground, Hitomi expanded the dome, getting Bakugou away from her.

She ran towards him again, forming a tall force field and launching it at him to try and get him out of bounds.

Bakugou simply moved out of the way, his reflexes too fast for Hitomi.

He charged at her, trying to break through another force field Hitomi had put up again as more smoke filled the stage.

_Pushing him out of bounds isn't working._

_Time for a new plan!_

Hitomi pushed Bakugou away again, putting distance between her and the other boy. He disappeared in the smoke his quirk had made, causing Hitomi to run toward that direction.

Forming a force field a bit ahead of her, she jumped on it, using it as a makeshift launchpad to vault her high into the air.

Emerging from the smoke, she heard Present Mic's commentary as she looked for Bakugou's bright blonde hair.

"Waaah, looks like Kanetsukabe's launched herself into the air!"

_Over there!_

Suspended in the air, she raised her arms up, drawing in the heat to make a force field larger than she ever had before.

Bakugou spotted her, but before he could do anything, Hitomi let out a yell and threw the huge force field down at him, slamming his body to the ground.

_If I can't push him out of bounds, I'll immobilize him instead!_

Present Mic yelled out in surprise.

Hitomi continued to sail through the air, keeping the force field pushed down on Bakugou before she suddenly realized something.

_I don't know how I'm going to land!_

Bakugou yelled from his place on the ground, setting off a huge explosion on the stage floor. It launched his body upwards, throwing Hitomi's barrier off of him as her concentration was split on how to land safely.

Before Hitomi could react, she felt a hand grip the back of her shirt while another grabbed her arm.

Bakugou's voice sounded behind her ear.

"Now die."

While they were still in midair, Bakugou threw Hitomi, setting off an explosion to speed up her trajectory. Hitomi yelled out in pain from the searing heat of Bakugou's explosions, feeling herself harshly hit the ground.

Trying to collect herself, Hitomi's stomach dropped as she felt grass beneath her.

"Kanetsukabe is out of bounds!" Midnight said. "Bakugou wins!"

* * *

**A/N: I love how Hitomi's fights with Mina and Tokoyami only took about half their respective chapters while with Bakugou it's almost the entire thing.**

**Bakugou finally drops some f-bombs! I noticed that literally the only swears so far have been Hitomi saying "shit" so I added those in.**

**So, our girl made it all the way to the semifinals. This is probably the biggest change to the story so far, but more will come in the upcoming arcs.**

**This will be the last upload for a while, because I'll be in LA for 4 days and away from my computer.**

**See you next time!**


	18. Sports Festival Results

**A/N: I'm back from my trip! I wrote about 5 new chapters while I was gone, which is a lot of progress. :D**

**I think I may end up actually making an upload schedule, because the sports festival is already wrapping up this chapter and it hasn't even been a month yet. I want to pace the story uploads out better so that it doesn't reach manga-only content before season 4 drops in October.**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 18] Add ****/029s8438abjv to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi sighed as Recovery Girl wrapped her arm in bandages.

"You did well, making it all the way to the semifinals."

"Yeah, I suppose. It's just a little frustrating I got so close to the finals, though I don't think me battling Todoroki would last very long anyway…"

"Have more confidence in yourself," Recovery Girl said as she clipped the end of the bandages. "You didn't get this far with dumb luck; that was all your own skill.

Okay, you're all done."

Hitomi bowed in thanks before leaving the room, hoping the last match hadn't started already.

...

Arriving at the 1-A stands, she took a seat next to Kirishima in the last row to find a huge ice wall filling half the stage.

"What did I miss?"

"Not much," Kirishima said. "The fight just started. Great job on your match, by the way!"

"Thanks-"

Hitomi was interrupted when she heard muffled explosions coming from the ice.

Bakugou emerged from the ice, blowing a section of the front apart.

He then launched himself at Todoroki, grabbing him and throwing him across the stage.

Todoroki formed ice along the edge while in midair, keeping himself in bounds.

Bakugou came at him again, Todoroki avoiding his assault and grabbing him with his left hand.

"Use your left!" Hitomi heard Endeavor say. "Use it, Shouto!"

Hitomi waited in anticipation before Todoroki threw Bakugou away, no flames in sight.

…

"Todoroki-kun!"

Hitomi looked to see Midoriya stand up from his seat, cheering for the dual-haired boy todo his best.

From her seat she saw Bakugou launch himself into the air the same way he had during her own fight.

Flames erupted from Todoroki's left, the hot air starting to fill the stadium.

"He's using it!" she said.

Bakugou maneuvered himself in the air, moving in a twirling fashion and creating a spiral of wind.

Hitomi saw Todoroki aim his fiery arm at Bakugou, before the flames suddenly disappeared.

_He's too conflicted with himself._

Bakugou let out one last cry, not noticing Todoroki's flames had dissipated as he let out a huge explosion akin to a missile.

The entire stadium shook from the force as the smoke slowly began to clear.

Bakugou was on the floor of the stage while Todoroki was laying on top of his ice, out of bounds.

Bakugou got up from his place on the ground, running towards Todoroki's limp body and grabbing him by the shirt.

"Stop screwing around!" Hitomi heard him say. "Didn't I tell you there was no point, damn it?!"

Bakugou sounded like he was about to cry.

"To get first place like this! Like this…"

Hitomi watched Bakugou fall to the ground, noticing pink smoke filling the stage.

Midnight had used her quirk to put him to sleep.

She approached the two boys, staring at their unconscious bodies for a moment before raising a hand in the air.

"Todoroki is out of bounds! Which means, Bakugou wins!"

* * *

The semi finalists and finalists were expected to be ready at the first, second, and third place podiums so Midnight could begin the awards ceremony, which meant Hitomi had to separate from the rest of the class.

When she arrived to the podiums, she saw a sight that made her stop in place.

"What's going on…?"

Bakugou was on the first place podium, chained to a cement block, his hands in a metal claw to prevent use of his quirk while a mouthguard was on his face.

"He's been difficult since he woke up," Cementoss explained.

Hitomi slowly walked past him, taking her place on the third place podium. "Isn't that… a bit much…?"

Bakugou made strangled noises through the mouthguard, shooting Hitomi a menacing glare.

_Maybe not…_

As Todoroki took his place on the second place podium, Hitomi noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Iida?"

"He had to leave early," Cementoss started. "Family emergency."

…

Hitomi heard the stadium's loud cheers as the podiums rose through the ground, sounds of confusion at the sight of Bakugou.

Hitomi noticed the flash of cameras, realizing the paparazzi was close by. She wanted to cover her face in embarrassment from all the attention, but decided against it.

"Now, we will award the medals!" Midnight announced. "The presentation of the medals will, of course, be by this man—"

Cheers erupted from the crowd as All Might's laugh was heard from above, the No. 1 hero making a flashy entrance as he flew through the air and landed on the ground below.

"Now then, All Might," Midnight said as she held up a tray of medallions, "please present the medals, starting with third place."

_That's me…_

All Might laughed brightly as he approached Hitomi, a bronze medal in his hands.

"Congratulations, Miss Kanetsukabe," he said as he slung the medal over her head. "You're going to be quite the formidable hero once you're older."

Hitomi grasped the medal around her neck, glancing at it as she thought of Nari. "Thank you, All Might."

"However," All Might suddenly said, "you rely on your quirk too much as a buffer."

The hero suddenly engulfed her in a hug as he continued. "Practice more on your personal fighting skills and reflexes, and one day you could be one of the best out there."

_His armpit smells like hopes and dreams…_

Hitomi held the medal close to her chest as All Might stepped back, remembering how she'd lost to Bakugou. "I'll do my best, All Might!"

The hero flashed her a bright smile before continuing with the ceremony.

* * *

Night was falling by the time Hitomi returned home.

As she opened the front door to her house, she was greeted by loud shouts.

"WELCOME HOME!"

Nari and Toku came barreling towards her as she entered the family room, her older brother and Nari's parents sitting on the couch while her own parents were sitting at the kitchen table.

She noticed tons of her favorite foods laid out on the counter as she took her shoes off. "What's all this?"

"To celebrate, duh!" Nari said. "I told you you'd do great!"

"Can we see the medal, Hitomi?" Toku asked.

Hitomi walked over to the couch, setting her bag down and unzipping it, pulling out the bronze medal.

Everyone made sounds of awe as Nari's parents congratulated her. "Amazing, Hitomi!"

Her older brother leaned back against the couch as Hitomi put the medal away. "I can't believe you went up against that Bakugou character, though. He's terrifying!"

"Yeah, he sure is…" Hitomi made a small laugh as she grabbed a plate. "But I survived, didn't I?"

"Don't let the fame get to your head, okay?" Hitomi's father joked. "I don't want to have to deal with an ego like his."

"Oh, believe me, that's never happening."

Nari elbowed Hitomi in the back as she was grabbing food. "Don't forget me when your famous, got it?"

Hitomi chuckled. "Like I'd ever."

* * *

**A/N: Did anyone catch that Tumblr reference? No?**


	19. Hero Names

**A/N: I'm back! Sorry everyone for that unannounced hiatus... I had finals last week, and then I started working on an animatic for my YouTube channel...**

**But I'm officially on break! :D**

**I've decided this fic will definitely have an upload schedule, just so I don't feel pressured to upload so often. New chapters will probably be every Sunday if possible.**

**I haven't worked on this fic since the last chapter I uploaded; I only just started writing again yesterday... oops.**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 19] Add ****/0195oc79fknq to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi was waiting on the train platform before she felt something tug her skirt.

"Um, excuse me?"

Looking to her right, she saw a little girl looking up at her with a shy look on her face.

"Yes…?"

"You got third place at the UA Sports Festival, right?"

Hitomi's face turned red, realizing again that the sports festival was broadcasted nationwide. "Um, yeah, I did!"

The girl's face suddenly broke into a bright smile, offering Hitomi a pen and notepad. "Can I have your autograph?"

Hitomi's face turned even redder before she took the pen and notepad. "Of course…" she said as she knelt down beside the little girl. "Do you want to be a hero when you grow up?" she asked as she wrote her name.

The girl nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I wanna be just like you!"

"Like me?"

"Super smart and super great at using your quirk! The way you fought was amazing! My dad even said you would be a good role model!"

Hitomi felt like her face was on fire. "Oh, well that's…" She struggled to find words before she heard a voice nearby.

"We need to go, sweetie!"

A woman was standing several feet away, staring at the two of them.

_That must be her mom._

Hitomi drew a little doodle of herself by her name before handing the notepad and pen back to the girl. "I'm sure you'll be a great hero," she said as she pat the little girl on the head. "Just remember, there isn't just one single way to use your quirk."

The girl flashed her a smile before running back to her mother, right as Hitomi's train arrived.

* * *

Class 1-A sat tense in their seats as they waited for Aizawa to announce what they'd be doing today.

"Code names," he said. "You'll be coming up with hero names."

The class cheered as people jumped out of their seats in excitement.

"_We're gonna do something exciting!_"

Aizawa's eyes flashed, the class falling back into order as if nothing happened. "This is related to the pro hero draft picks I mentioned the other day. The drafts begin in earnest in the second and third years, after students have gained experience and can become immediate assets to the pros.

In other words, for them to extend offers to first years like you shows that they are interested in your future potential. These offers are often cancelled if that interest dies down by graduation."

Aizawa continued, before he pressed a button on a remote.

"And here are the totals for those with offers."

A projection on the board appeared, revealing names and the amount of offers.

Hitomi's eyes glazed over the first two names.

_Todoroki and Bakugou._

They each had more than 3000 offers, making Hitomi feel even more intimidated by them.

She kept scanning the board, finding her name two lines below Bakugou.

294 offers.

"In other years," Aizawa said, "it's been more spread out, but all eyes were on these two this year."

"Gah, there's such a big difference!" Kaminari exclaimed.

Everyone commented on those who got offers before Aizawa continued. "Keeping these results in mind, whether or not anyone asked for you, you will all be participating in internships with pros."

…

Midnight had arrived to the class to supervise and make sure everyone's hero names were acceptable.

Yaoyorozu passed Hitomi a whiteboard and marker, leaving Hitomi to stare at the blank board as she tried to think of a name.

_Something that would reflect me…_

* * *

Hitomi was still struggling to think of a name as people started presenting their hero names.

She was racking her brain for ideas before she suddenly remembered an offhand comment Nari had made about her back when they were little.

_That's it!_

Hitomi scrawled out what she hoped would be a good title on her whiteboard, raising her hand after Kirishima presented his name.

"Midnight-sensei, may I go next?"

"Of course!"

Hitomi held the whiteboard close to her as she walked up to the podium, feeling her nerves flare up as everyone awaited her name.

She held her whiteboard up, her face heating up as she presented her future title.

"Veiling Hero: Blue Moon."

Her classmates made sounds of approval as Midnight clapped her hands together in excitement. "How elegant! It even fits with how your eyes glow when you use your quirk!"

Hitomi let out a sigh of relief as she nodded. "That's what I was going for. An old friend of mine told me my eyes reminded her of the moon, which is a little fitting since she's the reason I wanted to be a hero in the first place."

"Oh, it even has sentimental value!" Midnight said. "Great job, Kanetsukabe!"

Hitomi beamed to herself as she took her seat, her other classmates proceeding to present their own names.

* * *

"Midoriya!" Midnight called. "Are you ready?"

"Uh, yes!"

Hitomi watched her friend walk up to the podium, presenting his name.

The entire class made noises of surprise, confused on his name choice.

"Are you really okay with that?" Kaminari asked.

"You might be called that forever, you know," Kirishima added.

Midoriya looked down at his whiteboard, a contemplative look on his face. "Yeah. I didn't like this name until now. But someone changed the meaning of it, and that had a huge impact on me. It made me really happy."

His cheeks turned a slight pink, Hitomi catching his glance towards a specific part of the classroom.

She followed his gaze, her eyes landing on a certain brunette.

Uraraka was beaming in her seat as Midoriya said "Deku" would be his hero name.

Hitomi smiled to herself, admiring the care and trust they seemed to have for each other.

It was sweet.

* * *

**A/N: Are those more IzuOcha hints I see? OwO**

**Hitomi's got a fan!**

**If I'm being honest, even with the several chapters I already have prewritten, I have no idea where this story's going. I have everything planned up until the Hideout Raid Arc, but after that, I don't know what.**

**I feel like I should veer off into original story content, but I'm not sure how I'll do that. .-.**


	20. Hero Internships

**A/N: I'm giving you guys this chapter a day early! :D I'm just letting you all know in advance, the hero Hitomi interns with this chapter is a manga-only hero as of now, but he hasn't had any relevancy in any of the plot so far, so there's not really any spoilers. He's also only been a one-off character so far, so there's not really much I actually know about him. I don't know his actual abilities or personality. (Link in bio to find out what he looks like.)**

**I've got some things I want to tell you guys, so stay tuned for the author's note at the end of the chapter.**

**EDIT:**

**Art-**

**[Complete Gallery] Add ****/2fa2bvwyahk**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

**[Ch. 20] Add ****/2pli14vgz2h to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"Now that everyone's decided on their hero names," Aizawa started, "we'll go back to talking about the internships.

They'll last for a week. As for where you'll have them, those who had offers from pros will be given your own lists, so you can choose from those yourself.

Those who didn't have offers will choose from among forty agencies around the country that will be accepting our interns.

They all work in different places and have different specialties.

Think carefully before you choose."

…

Hitomi was sifting through the offers she got as her classmates talked about the different agencies they'd want to go to.

She stopped when she saw a certain hero's name.

_Shield Hero: Crust Agency._

Getting up from her seat, paper in hand, she approached Midoriya's desk, the people around him having a discussion about the training technique air chair.

She tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "Hey, Midoriya."

"Yes?"

She showed the paper to him, asking, "What do you know about this hero?"

Midoriya gasped. "Crust? He's one of the top 10 heroes in all of Japan, at No. 6 right now! Kanetsukabe-san, you got an offer from him?!"

Hitomi fiddled with a piece of her hair, embarrassed. "Yeah… I just wanted to ask what you knew about him, that's all."

"I think you should go to his agency! Since he's the Shield Hero, he could help you out with training your quirk along with your own combat sense; he's got a pretty physical fighting style."

Hitomi glanced at the paper again before looking back at freckled boy. "Thanks for your advice, Midoriya. I still don't really know much about the pro heroes of Japan, so your knowledge is super helpful!"

Midoriya turned red at the praise. "Oh, it's nothing really…"

* * *

Aizawa and Class 1-A were at the train station, the first day of internships.

"You all have your costumes, right?" Aizawa asked. "Remember, you aren't allowed to wear them in public. Don't drop them or anything."

There were sounds of affirmation as Aizawa continued. "Make sure you mind your manners with the heroes at your internships! Off with you, now."

_He sounds like such a dad._

The class dispersed, Hitomi heading for the train line that would take her to Ōsaka.

* * *

The sun was already beginning to set by the time Hitomi arrived, leaving her anxious about finding the agency.

_A teenage girl alone in the city at night… _

Glancing at the map on her phone, she walked through Central Ōsaka as the city came to life, billboards and building signs lighting up as night fell.

"Wow, it's so pretty at night…"

After a few minutes, she stopped in front of a large building, a sign in front labeled "Crust Hero Agency".

Pressing a button, she spoke into the intercom system by the door. "Excuse me? I'm here for the internship…"

Static crackled before a voice was heard. "Name?"

"Hitomi Kanetsukabe from UA."

The doors opened, revealing the reception desk. "Come on in."

She stepped inside, reveling in the the No. 6 Hero's agency.

The receptionist turned to her from her computer. "Crust will be down in a bit."

Right then, a man's voice was heard.

"Ah, you've made it, young miss!"

Hitomi jumped in surprise from the loud voice, turning to see the No. 6 Hero in front of her.

"Um, hello!" She said, bending in a deep bow. "Thank you for extending an offer to intern at your agency…"

The hero waved her off. "No need for formalities, young miss. Follow me, I'll show you where you'll be staying for the week."

…

Crust opened a door, revealing a small bedroom. There was a bed against the wall on the left side of the room, a desk and dresser opposite to it on the right wall.

"Here's where you'll be staying."

Hitomi stepped inside, dropping her hero costume case and backpack on the bed as Crust continued. "You've had a long trip, right? Would you like any dinner? I can have another one of my interns bring up some food for you."

"Um, some chicken katsu would be nice…"

"Great! Get some rest for tonight, young miss. We're getting up bright and early tomorrow for some combat training!"

"Right, thank you."

Crust shut the door, leaving Hitomi to unpack as she waited for her dinner.

* * *

Hitomi yelped as Crust pushed her down to the floor.

"Your close combat skills need work," he said.

Hitomi sat up, sighing as she rubbed her head. "I know. All Might told me the same thing back at the awards ceremony."

"You fighting style consists of using your force fields at a distance, correct?"

"Yeah. I usually throw them, or use them to push things away…"

Crust placed a hand on his chin, observing the bluenette. "That's not a bad style, though. However, if you improved your close combat skills, you'd be more versatile. It's important to expand your skills so you're prepared for any situation.

If your worried about injuring your own body while fighting, I think I have a solution for that."

Crust grabbed the girl's arm, holding it out in front of her.

"You can form force fields around things, correct?"

Hitomi nodded, not sure where he was going with this. "Mm. Although it's easier to make them around myself than others."

"That's just fine," he said. "Can you make a small force field around your fist?"

Hitomi complied, her fist completely encased in a force field.

"Wonderful!" Crust cried out. "This way you can hit much harder without hurting yourself in the process. We just need to keep training up your reflexes."

* * *

Hitomi had just finished her third day of internships as she collapsed onto her bed.

She and Crust had had their first day of patrol that day, and the two had gone on a wild goose chase through Central Ōsaka after a group of petty thieves.

Hitomi groaned into her pillow, sweaty and tired.

_I can't believe chasing people through the city would be so exhausting. I really need to work on my stamina..._

All she wanted to do was take a bath and eat.

Hitomi heard her phone beep, receiving a notification. She pulled it out, taking a quick glance to see there was a message from Midoriya.

She sighed, before plugging the phone into her charger and grabbing clothes to change into after a bath.

_I'll just check it tomorrow._

* * *

**A/N: Believe me when I say, besides the fact he's the number 6 hero, everything I wrote about Crust is made up.**

**I'm kind of just glossing over the internships, because Hitomi's just getting some basic training and isn't involved with Stain, like, at all.**

**If you came all the way down here to hear what I have to say, thank you! So what I wanted to let you guys know is that I'm actually opening commissions for the summer!**

**If you like the art you've seen so far in my fic, and you're thinking about maaaybe wanting to commission me, you can find more info about it on my Instagram account, otaku . in . america (Delete the spaces)****.**

**I'm hoping to earn some money so I can replace my old phone, because good lord that thing has been destroying my eyesight for the past three years.**


	21. Study Buddies

**A/N: I've decided updates will be every Friday rather than Sunday, mostly because I can't control myself.**

**Friendly reminder that pictures go along with the chapters! From here on out, I'll be giving you guys a URL code to add to the DeviantArt Stash URL, which will link you to the art for each corresponding chapter so you don't forget to look at them. It's the main reason the appearance of the characters are rarely mentioned, as I write this story with the intent in my head that art is supposed to accompany it.**

**I also changed the link in my bio that gives you access to _all_ the art so far from Imgur to DeviantArt, because I honestly don't know how to use Imgur. : /**

**Art: ****/21fc5l5s6bcc**

* * *

Hitomi opened the classroom door, the first thing she heard being Kirishima and Sero's loud laughs.

The hero internships had ended, leading the students to return to their regular school routine.

As Hitomi walked towards her desk, she saw Iida and Midoriya standing by Todoroki's desk.

"Hey, guys…" she said, an apologetic look on her face. "I'm so sorry about what happened; I didn't see your distress signal until the day after. Although, there wouldn't have been much I could do all the way in Ōsaka…"

"Oh, Kanetsukabe-san, don't worry about it!" Midoriya reassured her as she took her seat. "We just got some minor injuries, and the pros came just in time to save us…" He trailed off, looking away as if he was trying to avoid eye contact.

"Anyways, how was your internship?"

"Oh, it was great!" Hitomi said. "I learned some basic combat training and different ways to apply my quirk! Thanks for recommending me to go there, Midoriya, it was super helpful!"

Midoriya spluttered at Hitomi's praise again. "That's good to hear…"

* * *

_The next day…_

"Okay, that's it for class," Aizawa said as he gathered his papers. "There's only one week left until final exams. You're all studying properly, I hope?

I'm pretty sure you all know, but it won't just be a written exam. There's also a practical component.

Make sure you train your minds and bodies at the same time. That's all," he said as he left the room.

"I HAVEN'T STUDIED AT ALL!" Kaminari and Mina yelled, although the two different looks on their faces revealed how they felt about it.

As everyone talked about how the finals compared to the midterms, Hitomi pulled out one of the notebooks from her desk.

_It'd probably be a good idea to review the notes this time around…_

"You two," she heard Yaoyorozu say, "I may be able to be of assistance with the class lectures."

Kaminari and Mina cried out in appreciation. As more of their classmates approached Momo for help, Kaminari turned to Hitomi.

"Hitomi, you get really good grades, right? Do you think you could help us out in studying too?"

Hitomi tensed, a sheepish smile on her face. "Oh, I don't really study that much, actually, so I don't think I'd be very good at tutoring…"

"WHA?! But you got 5th on the midterms!" Mina cried out.

Hitomi blushed, embarrassed. "Well, I usually can already understand the material from the homework and assignments we get anyway; I'd probably get better grades if I actually studied…"

"How are you like this?!" Kaminari said.

Hitomi smiled. "It's an anomaly, I guess."

* * *

Kirishima had practically begged Hitomi to help him out with English, leading her to meet him at a cafe over the weekend.

She found the redhead seated in a booth by the window, his notebooks and pencil case already sprawled out on the table.

She set her bag down as she took a seat across from him. "I'm warning you right now, Kirishima, I'm not very good at teaching."

"It's fine, Hitomi! You're the best in the class at English, so I wanted your help specifically."

"I'll do my best…"

"How are you so good at English, anyway?" Kirishima asked as he took a sip of his drink. "You even have the accent down and everything."

Hitomi was about to respond before she heard a voice at the edge of the table.

"...the hell are you doing here?"

Hitomi turned at the sound of the voice, the source surprising her.

"Bakugou?!"

"Oh, I didn't tell you?" Kirishima said. "Bakugou's helping me study too."

"No, Kirishima, you didn't."

Bakugou plopped down on the seat next to Hitomi, huffing as he opened his bag.

"Sorry about that!" Kirishima said as he ran a hand through his hair. "Guess I forgot."

"It's fine," Hitomi started. "I doubt I'd be much help anyway."

_Just please don't leave me alone with him._

* * *

Hitomi had basically watched Bakugou beat knowledge into Kirishima's head the whole time, silent as she ate her food. Kirishima didn't seem to be bothered by it that much, though.

She was flipping through her history workbook, trying to brush up on her Japanese history.

_Moving to a different country in the middle of your adolescence really messes up your history knowledge…_

"Hey, Hitomi," Kirishima said, catching her attention, "we're moving on to English now."

"Right, sorry!" she said, snapping the workbook shut.

Pulling out her English materials, she heard Kirishima talking to her again. "Hey, you never answered my question. How are you so good at English, again?"

"Oh, that? I guess I've never really told anyone, huh…

Well, my family used to live in America."

"Wha, really?!" Kirishima said, surprised. "But you're Japanese sounds nothing like a foreigner!"

"That's a little complicated," Hitomi said. "I actually lived here in Japan up until I was 9, so Japanese is my first language. We had to move to America because of my dad's job, but then we came back because the company he works for wanted him back here near Tokyo."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Kirishima exclaimed. "What's it like over there?"

"Probably a fuckin' dump," Bakugou cut in.

"Hey!" Hitomi said, glaring at the boy next to her. "It wasn't all bad over there…"

"So what was it like?" Kirishima asked again.

Hitomi placed a hand on her cheek, recalling her time in the US. "Well, for one thing, the food there is super diverse, since people from all different cultures come there…"

"Did you get to see Hollywood?" Kirishima asked, excited. "Universal Studios? Disney?!"

Hitomi gave him a sheepish smile, afraid to disappoint him. "Only to the amusement parks, and even then I had only gone there a few times. We only lived there for about 6 years."

Kirishima leaned back in his seat, a wistful look on his face. "Man, I'd love to visit someday…"

* * *

Hitomi and the boys had spent about an hour looking over the English material, the bluenette guiding Kirishima on sentence structure and vocabulary.

Bakugou had been surprisingly quiet during then, studying in his math workbook on his own.

Kirishima suddenly got up from his seat, exiting the booth.

"Where are you going?" Hitomi asked.

_Please don't leave me alone with Bakugou._

"Sorry, gotta take a bathroom break."

_GODDAMMIT, KIRISHIMA!_

The redhead then proceeded to leave, leaving Hitomi with the blonde.

She was practically squirming in her seat, feeling awkward about being alone with someone who always seemed so angry.

"You're being pretty fucking obvious, you know."

Hitomi tensed, embarrassed at being caught.

"I'm sorry! I'm not good at conversation…"

"You were pretty chatty talking about America with Shitty Hair earlier."

Hitomi fell silent, unsure of what to say.

"Kirishima makes it so easy…" She trailed off, before her eyes fell on Bakugou's math workbook.

She leaned in close, pointing to one of the problems.

"The answer's supposed to be 12.5."

"...what?"

"You forgot to convert the half-life to minutes; the exponent is supposed to turn out to be ½, not 30."

Bakugou redid the problem, finding Hitomi's answer to be correct.

"You did that all in your head?" Bakugou had an irritated look on his face.

"Eh? Well, yeah; I was taking precalculus before I moved here, so I already knew the formula, and the problem itself isn't that hard…"

"So do you just naturally brag about how fucking smart you are or what?"

"That's not what I meant!" Hitomi stuttered. "I just noticed it was wrong, that's all…"

Bakugou scoffed before Kirishima finally returned to their table.

"Hey guys! Sorry I took a while, they were out of soap."

"That's okay, Kirishima. I was just showing Bakugou an error on one of his math problems."

Kirishima had a teasing smirk on his face as he sat down. "Oh, is the high and mighty Katsuki Bakugou struggling with math?"

"SHUT UP! IT WAS ONE DAMN PROBLEM!"

"Actually, I saw a few more…"

"THE FUCK?!"

* * *

**A/N: This chapter ended up being mostly characterization for Hitomi, revealing more of her past as well as her intelligence. She's actually canonically smarter than Deku, Bakugou, Todoroki, and Iida, coming in with a 5/5 for intelligence while the boys all have 4/5. Believe me, I was not planning for that when I created her.**

**Her study habits are also just like mine, and by that I mean practically nonexistent, where by some miracle I get good grades yet rarely study.**

**I actually made the equation Hitomi was looking at myself! It's a half-life problem, and I was still taking pre-calc when I did this chapter.**

**I also wrote this while I was gone in LA, meaning I had amusement parks on the brain, hence Kirishima's mentions of Hollywood and Disney.**

**Ok, this is a really long author's note, so I'll stop now.**


	22. Final Exams Pt 1

**A/N: We're back! Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the new chapter.**

**Art - Add /216q198ea0n4 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Class 1-A stood at UA's Central Plaza, fully in their hero costumes with Aizawa and the other first-year teachers standing in front of them.

The three days of written exams had been completed, Hitomi feeling more confident on her test scores thanks to the extra studying she'd done with Bakugou and Kirishima.

Jirou pointed out the large amount of teachers, wondering why so many were present if the practical consisted of fighting robots again.

"I expect that you all have gathered information ahead of time and have some idea of what you'll be doing."

Kaminari proudly announced the class would be fighting the faux villains from entrance exam, while Mina cheered for summer training camp activities.

"Too bad!" A voice said, seemingly coming from Aizawa.

The tired man's scarf rustled, before the UA principal Nezu popped out. "For various reasons, the exam will be different starting this time!"

Kaminari and Mina visibly froze, fearing what was coming next.

"From now on," the mouse said as he climbed down from Aizawa, "we want to focus on person-to-person combat and hero work, and stress teaching that is closer to actual fighting.

So that means…

We'll have you form teams of two to fight against one teacher!"

The entire class collectively gasped.

"In addition, the pairs and who each pair will be up against have already been decided," Aizawa added. "They were determined at my discretion based on various factors, including fighting style, grades, and interpersonal relationships, so here they are-"

Hitomi raised her hand abruptly, cutting in. "I'm sorry for interrupting, Sensei, but there's an uneven amount of people in the class because of me…"

"I've already taken care of that," her teacher replied. "You'll be on a team of three with Midoriya and Bakugou."

The two boys turned to each other in surprise before Aizawa continued. "Since three-on-one is a bigger disadvantage compared to two-on-one, your opponent will be…"

A loud laugh was heard, a silhouette appearing in the sky before it suddenly landed in front of the three students.

"I will do it," said All Might.

"All Might?!" Midoriya and Bakugou said, while Hitomi was stunned into silence.

"Work together to beat me, you three!" the No. 1 Hero exclaimed.

* * *

_A few days ago…_

The UA staff had been discussing a new practical final exam, and Aizawa had just finished proposing the team of Todoroki and Yaoyorozu.

"Next up," Aizawa said as he shifted through his class files, pulling out three papers, "for Midoriya, Bakugou, and Kanetsukabe, I'm leaving them to you, All Might."

All Might made a sound of curiosity.

"In the case of the two boys, I didn't pair them up based on abilities or grades." Aizawa looked up from his papers. "Just on how badly they get along. You like Midoriya, right?"

All Might was silent for a moment before he spoke up. "And for Young Kanetsukabe?"

Aizawa looked back at his papers, picking up Hitomi's class file. "She's friends with Midoriya, and it seems Bakugou's somewhat recognized her abilities from both the sports festival and from studying for the written exam. She can hopefully act as a buffer between the two of them.

However, that's not the main reason I put her here. Even with the knowledge she's gained from her internship, she relies way too much on the formidability of her quirk.

She seems to firmly believe her force fields are unbreakable, and I'm afraid she'll one day receive a rude awakening where the consequences are severe.

I want you to test her belief with your power.

The results will affect her quirk training in the future.

Please instruct them well."

* * *

_The present…_

Aizawa had just finished announcing the teams and match sets before Nezu explained the details of the exam.

"The time limit for the exam is thirty minutes!" He pulled out a pair of handcuffs, continuing. "Your objective is to either put these handcuffs on the teacher, or to have one of you escape from the stage."

The teachers all continued to explain the hypotheticals the students would learn from the exam, before All Might introduced one more element of the practical.

"Ultra-compressed weights! We'll put on about half of our own body weight," he said as the teachers all clamped wrist and ankle weights on themselves. "It's to give you a handicap. It's old-fashioned, but it makes it hard to move and eats up stamina!"

_That'll make it easier if the students choose to fight…_

…

The students were dismissed, the teachers giving the teams time to plan and discuss strategies before the first set.

Midoriya turned to Bakugou, about to speak before the blonde walked away.

"Bakugou, where are you going?!" Hitomi asked. "We need to figure out a plan for All Might…"

The boy continued to walk away, ignoring her.

"Sorry, Kanetsukabe-san…" Midoriya said. "It's because of me he doesn't want to talk…"

Hitomi sighed, staring at their teammate before she turned back to her friend. "That's okay. We can watch the other matches since we're going last and try to come up with something on our own…"

…

Hitomi and Midoriya stood in the monitor room by Recovery Girl, Uraraka joining them to watch the fights for reference.

Kirishima's team was in the first match, up against Cementoss.

The hero created cement walls, keeping Kirishima and Sato at a distance.

The boys activated their quirks, charging headfirst for the hero and trying to break through the many cement walls created.

It continued for several minutes before Hitomi noticed the two boys started slowing down.

They were suddenly encased in a cement dome, a loud crash sounding and a horn blaring.

"Kirishima!" Hitomi cried out.

"_Team Sato and Kirishima retires due to both members losing consciousness."_

"Oh no… and so quickly too…"

_This exam is going to be harder than I thought…_

_And we're up against..._

* * *

Uraraka had just returned from her match, entering the monitor room to join Hitomi, Midoriya, Tsuyu, Iida, and Yaoyorozu.

"Uraraka-kun, congratulations on passing!" Iida said.

"Thanks! You too, Iida-kun!" the brunette replied.

"Ochako-chan," Tsuyu said, placing a finger on her chin, "when you were fighting against Thirteen, what were you talking about with Aoyama?"

"Huh? That was…"

She paused for a moment, before her face suddenly bloomed a bright red.

"...n-nothing! That's not how it is!" She was waving her arms around rapidly in fierce denial, but Hitomi didn't miss the way she seemed to be staring directly at Midoriya.

* * *

Mineta and Sero were in the middle of their exam when Hitomi tugged Midoriya's sleeve.

"We should head to the battle stage about now."

Midoriya took one last glance at the monitors before nodding, the two silently exiting the room as the others watched the current fight.

…

Hitomi and Midoriya sprinted towards the entrance gate, slowing down when they saw Bakugou already waiting right in front of it.

Hearing their footsteps, Bakugou glanced at the two of them, his gaze stopping on Midoriya. He glared at the boy before turning back around, a horn sounding.

"_Team Midoriya, Bakugou, and Kanetsukabe, practical exam._

_Ready, go!"_

* * *

**A/N: A mostly uneventful chapter this time around, just shoving in an IzuOcha moment because I can. I hope you all will enjoy the kids' fight with All Might!**


	23. Final Exams Pt 2

**A/N: Back for another Friday! I don't know if you could tell, but as I write the chapters I have the corresponding episodes and manga chapters open, because I basically write down the existing dialogue word-for-word.**

**My mentality is "if it's not accurate I'll DIE" and I really need to let go of it. ^^;**

**Art: Add /25lynivkpxo?edit=1 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi silently followed the other two boys through the main street of the cityscape, Midoriya trying to reason with Bakugou with little to no effect.

"...in our case, the villain is All Might, and fighting against him is dangerous— I think it's a really bad idea, anyway—"

Bakugou sped up, ignoring Midoriya's words.

The curly-haired boy tried to keep up with him as Hitomi continued to trail after them. "Wait, Kacchan-"

"Stop following me!" Bakugou suddenly yelled, continuing to walk past Midoriya.

"I-If we keep going straight," Midoriya stuttered, "All Might will probably be waiting for us. We should take a detour-"

"Why should we run away? It'd definitely be better if we beat him up!"

Midoriya made a noise of disbelief. "W-We should avoid combat if we can no matter what!"

"We'll toy with him until it's almost over, and then once he's tired out, I'll beat him up!"

Midoriya fell silent as he and Hitomi continued to follow behind Bakugou, before Midoriya suddenly ran up to the blonde, desperate to get through to him. "Who do you think All Might is?! Even with the handicap, you can't win against him-!"

Bakugou suddenly swung his arm, slamming his gauntlet directly in Midoriya's face.

"Midoriya!" Hitomi ran to the freckled boy's side as he fell to the ground, cradling his cheek in pain.

"Don't say another word," Bakugou said, pure rage radiating off his face. "Just because things are going better for you doesn't mean you should talk. It's pissing me off."

Midoriya only stared at him in fear as Hitomi held Midoriya's shoulder.

Bakugou then turned around, stalking off on his own.

"Wait, Kacchan!" Midoriya yelled from his place on the ground. "I'm saying this so we can pass the test! Listen to me, Kacchan-!"

"I told you," Bakugou yelled, turning around, "your power isn't needed to pass-"

A loud slap permeated the air.

The two boys stared at Hitomi in shock as Bakugou's cheek started to redden.

"...what in the fucking hell is wrong with you?" she said, her voice low as she lowered her hand.

"Kanetsukabe-san…?" Midoriya said.

Hitomi suddenly got up in Bakugou's face, an expression of pure anger on her face.

"I may never understand what's going on between you two, but that gives you _no right_ to treat him this way! You may not like him, but he's your teammate, for God's sake!"

Bakugou was silent as Hitomi continued. "Think about who we're up against! This is _All Might_, you asshole, so get let go of your ego for one second and-"

She suddenly stopped, shoving Bakugou behind her as she formed a dome around the three of them, protecting them from dust and debris that flew their way.

The ground shook as Hitomi struggled to keep the force field up against the strong wind force, dropping it when the dust storm finally calmed down.

"Who gives a damn about damaging the city?" A voice said through the dust.

Hitomi froze in place, feeling her body unable to move as All Might appeared.

_What… What is this…_

_...this sense of intimidation?_

All Might slammed his foot on the ground, blowing back the last of the dust. "If you think of this as an exam, you'll be sorry," he said. "I am a villain, heroes. Come at me with everything you got!"

All Might suddenly appeared in front of Hitomi, grabbing her arm.

"You're the most troublesome."

All Might then threw her, launching her towards one of the buildings.

"Kanetsukabe-san!" Midoriya yelled. "We can't take him head on," he told Bakugou. "Let's run!"

…

Hitomi formed a force field around herself right before her body crashed through the building, the ceilings of the upper floors falling on top of her barrier.

She slowly expanded it from her place on the floor, pushing the rubble away from her body.

Her head felt like it was spinning, too dizzy to get back up.

_Damn it…_

She stayed there on the floor for a while, trying to let the world settle as she heard Bakugou and Midoriya attempting to fight off All Might.

She finally picked herself up as she heard Midoriya screaming.

"Don't _you_ say you'd rather lose!"

Glancing through the gaping hole in the building, Hitomi saw Midoriya fling Bakugou over his shoulder as he ran into one of the alleyways on her side of the street.

_We need to regroup._

…

All Might double-checked the building Hitomi was flung into, finding it empty.

"Looks like she got away," he said.

…

Hitomi navigated through the alleyways, pausing when she heard an explosion nearby.

Following the source of the noise, she turned a corner to find Bakugou had Midoriya against the wall, his fist in a large crater he had likely made with an explosion.

"...shut up, bastard!" Bakugou yelled. "I'll kill you!"

Hitomi walked towards the two, placing a hand on Bakugou's gauntlet before pushing it away from Midoriya's face.

"Kanetsukabe-san, you're okay…" Midoriya said.

Bakugou shot her a glare before he continued.

"He won't even budge with half-assed power. I figured that out earlier with those consecutive hits. So…"

…

"Where are you looking?!" Bakugou yelled as he emerged from an alleyway behind All Might.

Midoriya and Hitomi were waiting around the corner as Bakugou launched explosions at the hero, awaiting the blonde's signal.

"DEKU!"

Under the cover of Bakugou's smoke, Midoriya appeared behind All Might, wearing one of Bakugou's gauntlets as Hitomi continued to stay on standby.

He took aim at the No. 1 Hero as Bakugou launched himself up into the air.

"SHOOT!"

Midoriya pulled the pin of the gauntlet, setting off a large explosion at All Might at point-blank range.

_There's my cue!_

Running out from the alleyway, Hitomi placed her hands on the ground as Midoriya was pushed back from the force of the explosion, a large wall that covered the width of the entire street beginning to form.

The wall continued to grow in height as Midoriya cradled his arm, Bakugou flying over the barrier.

"Run, idiots!"

"Oh, right!" Midoriya said as his quirk came to life. He picked Hitomi up as he ran, the girl continuing to make the barrier taller as they tried to escape.

…

All Might coughed blood onto his hand as he observed the large wall in front of him that was still getting higher.

"Quite impressive, Young Kanetsukabe…"

He began to stretch his legs, a glint in his eyes.

"Now then…" he said, "your teacher's gonna do his best!"

* * *

**A/N: I almost forgot to tell you guys ACK-**

**Okay, so the upload schedule's gonna get a little wonky after this chapter because...**

**HITOMI'S BIRTHDAY IS NEXT THURSDAY!**

**I almost completely forgot to write it until a friend of mine mentioned it was coming up soon, and coincidentally, her birthday falls in line with where we are in the story so far.**

**Since I need to release the chapters that take place before the birthday chapter, that means you're getting some chapters early! Woohoo!**

**Stay tuned! The last part of final exams is coming this Sunday!**


	24. Final Exams Pt 3

**A/N: I'm quaking in my boots because I meant to mention it sooner, and, well, DIDN'T-**

**So, back when I first created Hitomi, I busted my butt looking for a voice that would fit her, and found both a Japanese VA and English VA that I think would fit her well if she was part of the canon.**

**If you were looking for a good voice that would represent her while you read, these would be her voices -**  
**JP:** Saori Hayami _(Yuzuki Shiraishi from A Place Further Than the Universe)_  
**EN:** Kira Buckland _(Umi Sonoda from Love Live)_

**(Personally, I would watch her subbed instead of dubbed, but that's just because I prefer subs in general, so...)**

**Art - Add /22a8juwmdg6h to the DeviantArt Stash URL**

* * *

The three students continued through the cityscape, a large sign with Principal Nezu's face coming into view.

"Almost there…" Midoriya said as he was carrying Hitomi in his arms. "Almost at the escape gate! It seems cuter than it needs to be, but as long as one of us gets through, then we pass!"

Hitomi was keeping an eye over Midoriya's shoulder, trying to ensure her force field stayed up. Bakugou only stayed silent.

"It doesn't look like All Might's chasing us," Hitomi said.

"Don't tell me we knocked him out…?" Midoriya asked.

Bakugou scoffed. "Bastard, didn't you keep saying there was no way we'd beat him, you idiot?! There's no way he was knocked out by that! The next time he catches up, it'll be my turn to blow him away with my gauntlet!"

"Yes, yes," a new voice said. "And then?"

All Might suddenly appeared, effortlessly destroying Bakugou's gauntlet before he could do anything.

"What're you surprised about?" the hero asked as he swung at Midoriya, simultaneously destroying the gauntlet and knocking Hitomi out of his arms.

She fell to the ground harshly, letting go of the hold she had on the barrier they'd left behind.

I didn't feel any impact on it or anything… shit. I must not have made it high enough in time.

Hitomi tried to get up from her place on the ground as All Might easily took down her teammates, obscuring them from view in a large dust cloud.

She fell back to the ground, feeling a shooting pain in her shoulder.

I must've sprained it.

"That's wonderful, boys!" she heard All Might say. "You cooperated—however reluctantly—and faced me!

However, you two—that was a prerequisite for this exam!"

The dust finally cleared, revealing All Might had the two boys completely immobilized. Bakugou was pushed down on the ground by All Might's foot, while Midoriya was dangling in the air from All Might holding his arm.

I need to save them, idiot!

Getting up from the ground, she threw a force field at the hero with her good arm.

"Don't forget I'm still here, All Might."

"Oh, you're still kicking?"

All Might glanced down at Midoriya struggling to break from his hold, saying, "What kind of face is that, Young Midoriya?"

Don't ignore me!

He suddenly threw the boy, directly at Hitomi and sending the two crashing into a nearby railing, enhancing the pain in the girl's shoulder. She also felt her ankle twist in an odd way, sending pain shooting through her leg and causing her to scream.

Shit!

"Getting away from me with your maximum firepower, barricading me in the city, and then getting through the escape gate.

That appears to have been you kids' answer, but now that I've destroyed Young Bakugou's gauntlets, you've lost that maximum firepower.

It's over."

Bakugou clicked his tongue before suddenly yelling.

"SHUT UP!"

Sparks crackled from his palms, before he suddenly let off a huge explosion at the No. 1 Hero.

"The blast from the sports festival…" Hitomi said as they were covered in a large cloud of smoke.

Bakugou suddenly grabbed Midoriya's collar in all the chaos. "I'm gonna send you flying! I don't like it, but with what we've got right now, this is the only way to win!"

"Hey, wait! Don't tell me-" Midoriya cried out.

"DIE!"

Bakugou threw Midoriya as he set off an explosion, launching him through the air towards the escape gate.

Bakugou winced as his arm twitched, before he turned to Hitomi.

"Kanetsukabe! Get off your ass and get on my back! We're gonna keep that fucking bastard All Might distracted!"

"Uh, right!"

After clambering onto Bakugou's back, the boy ran after Midoriya as they heard All Might's voice.

"New Hampshire Smash!"

The smoke cloud cleared as All Might sent himself flying through the air, directly into Midoriya's back.

Hitomi could hear him scream in pain.

"Damn it!" Bakugou said as he launched he and Hitomi into the air with an explosion.

Midoriya was sent flying into a nearby bus, ricocheting off the vehicle into the ground.

"Midoriya!" Hitomi yelled.

Bakugou continued to fly through the air with his explosions, bringing the two of them closer to All Might.

"When I get close," he told Hitomi, "you're getting off and barricading me and All Might from you and Deku. Make sure that bastard gets to the escape gate, you hear me?!"

"I will!"

Bakugou aimed his arms at All Might, about to use his quirk.

"I was so stupid…" he said to All Might. "There's no way I could beat you without taking any risks!"

Bakugou screamed as he set off another huge explosion.

Hitomi let go of him, letting herself fall to the ground as she made a force field around herself. She dropped it as she finally hit the ground, landing near Midoriya.

She got into position, wincing as she felt her ankle ache. Placing her hands on the gravel, her pupils glowed as she activated her quirk.

"We're doing this for you. Make sure you get to the escape gate, Midoriya!"

Drawing in massive amounts of plasma, another huge wall began to form. Hitomi winced as she felt her palms begin to burn, but kept drawing in more heat to make the wall taller as quickly as possible.

It needs to be taller than the buildings this time…!

"GO, DEKU!" they heard Bakugou yell. "HURRY!"

Midoriya tried to get up, struggling as he felt searing hot pain in his back.

"I can still move more than you," Bakugou continued to yell, "with your cobbled together power!

Make yourself useful, damn scum!"

Hitomi concentrated on bringing her wall up in height as Bakugou continued to fight off All Might, the boy setting off another large explosion.

"Midoriya, please!" Hitomi cried out, heat beginning to burn in her lower arms. "I don't have the same amount of power you and Bakugou have, and I can't even walk right now. I wouldn't make it in time. It has to be you!"

"Kanetsukabe-san…" Midoriya glanced at her before they heard a large crash on the other side of the barrier.

All Might had thrown Bakugou into a building, and was walking through the smoke and dust before finally stopping in front of Hitomi from across the wall.

Hitomi started to scoot back as she and Midoriya could only stare in fear.

All Might knocked on the force field, glancing up to see it had extended past the height of the buildings.

"Amazing, Young Kanetsukabe!" All Might exclaimed. "That's the largest I've ever seen you make so far!"

Hitomi's eyes narrowed as she stopped by Midoriya, the two helping each other up.

"Your force fields have always been formidable," All Might continued, "but like Aizawa said…"

He suddenly reeled his fist back, punching the force field with 100% of his power. The barrier shattered, throwing Hitomi and Midoriya back into the ground from the wind force.

"...you rely on that fact far too much."

"No way…" Hitomi said from her place on the ground, feeling like the wind was knocked out of her lungs. "He broke it…"

All Might suddenly appeared in front of the girl, picking her up by the arm.

Hitomi cried out in pain, All Might having used the arm with the sprained shoulder.

"You really are quite troublesome."

He threw her across the ground, away from the gate. Hitomi felt herself getting dizzy, in too much pain to get back up.

Shit! Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!

"DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME, YOU BASTARD!"

Bakugou emerged from the building he was launched into, nearing All Might and setting off another explosion.

"FUCKING DEKU!" Bakugou shouted. "GET TO THE DAMN GATE ALREADY!"

Midoriya activated his quirk, making his way to the gate before All Might came after him from the smoke.

Bakugou appeared in front of the hero, yelling as he used another explosion. All Might finally dodged it that time, grabbing Bakugou by the head and slamming him into the ground.

"Go to sleep, Young Bakugou," Hitomi heard All Might say.

Hitomi tried to move, her body numb.

I can't…

I can't save him.

She heard Bakugou's voice, but couldn't hear what he was saying.

The sounds of Midoriya's quirk activating were heard nearby, causing All Might to turn around.

"Whoops, I won't let you-!"

Hitomi and All Might saw Midoriya making his way towards the hero, a determined smile on his face.

"Please move, All Might!"

He punched the man in the jaw, yelling out.

"SMASH!"

As the freckled boy picked Bakugou up, Hitomi weakly raised her arm, activating her quirk.

She formed a barrier between the boys and All Might as the hero tried to right himself.

"Go, Midoriya."

Midoriya nodded at her before turning around, making his way to the gate with Bakugou.

All Might sprang up, ready to jump back into action. "I won't-"

"Not so fast, All Might," the girl behind him interrupted.

The wall suddenly moved back, slamming into the No. 1 Hero.

All Might faltered, falling to the ground and coughing into his hand.

"Jeez, you all could've passed if he'd just gone through the gate by himself," she heard him say.

Hitomi didn't miss the way steam seemed to rise from his body as the hero coughed blood into his hand.

"He hit me with everything he had, huh?"

Hitomi kept the wall up as Midoriya continued to run towards the gate.

She finally let it drop when she heard the announcement, allowing herself to fall into unconsciousness.

"Team Midoriya, Bakugou, and Kanetsukabe have passed."

* * *

**A/N: When you add a factor that should change the game yet the outcome stays the same-**

**Oof, I kinda struggled writing the final exams. When I'm referencing direct scenes from the anime, my need to be accurate messes with how I want Hitomi to be implemented in the story, hence the fast/odd pace. Hopefully this arc was satisfying, though!**

**If you're wondering to yourself "Why didn't Hitomi just run to the gate?" well, uh- My excuse is she hurt her leg and couldn't walk, even though both of the boys suffered worse injuries than her...**


	25. Pool Day

**A/N: I wrote this chapter mainly because I missed Nari/Hitomi interaction, and also because Nari is a main part of the birthday chapter; I'm trying to give her more of a presence before I post it.**

**I also figured while we're at it, I'd give you Nari's voice actors too - **  
**JP:** Inori Minase _(Nagisa Aizawa from Jitsu wa Watashi wa)_  
**EN:** Erica Mendez _(Retsuko from Aggretsuko)_

**Art - Add ****/21z71reoikje to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"We have to refrain from taking long trips over the summer?" Uraraka exclaimed, surprised.

It was the last day of school before summer break, and all the Class 1-A girls had gathered around Yaoyorozu and Hitomi's desks to discuss their summer plans.

"It can't be helped," Jirou said, replying to Mina's disappointment over not getting to use her new swimsuit. "We were attacked by the League of Villains before."

"Even so!" Mina yelled, waving her arms in frustration, "I wanna play! I wanna go somewhere!"

"Then," Tooru started, "do you wanna meet up at the school pool over summer vacation?"

The girls all voiced their approval, Yaoyorozu rising from her seat to get permission from the teachers.

"Wait, Yaoyorozu," Hitomi said, getting up from her seat as well. "Do you think it'd be possible to bring a friend of mine along? I haven't been able to hang out with her as much this semester, and I think she'd have a lot of fun in our class."

"I'm sure I can get the teachers' approval," Yaoyorozu replied. "Just come with me so we can make sure."

* * *

"Guys," Hitomi said, gesturing towards her friend, "this is Nari Varsteg."

Hitomi's best friend flashed everyone a bright smile, everyone warmly greeting her in reply.

"It's nice to meet you, Varsteg-kun!" Iida said, holding his hand out for a handshake. "Kanetsukabe-kun brings up her best friend quite often, which is you, I presume?"

"Yup, that's me!" Nari beamed. "I already know all of you guys from the sports festival; you're all taking good care of my daughter, right?"

"Daughter…?" Midoriya questioned.

"Nari!" Hitomi suddenly yelled, her face bright red.

"What?" Nari replied, feigning ignorance. "You're training to be a hero, of course I'd be worried."

Hitomi huffed, cradling her face in her hands from embarrassment as the class laughed at the childhood friends' antics.

* * *

"So, Nari-chan," Mina said as she passed a beach ball, "how'd you and Hitomi-chan meet?"

Nari paused for a second, digging up old memories from the past. "My mom and her dad were old college friends. When her family was looking for a place to stay in Tokyo, my mom got them the house next to mine since she's a real estate agent, so we became neighbors! You should've seen Hitomi when she was little, she was so cute!"

Hitomi yelped at Nari's comment, getting distracted and was hit in the head with the beach ball.

"Oh my gosh, what was she like when she was younger?!" Uraraka asked.

Nari let out a laugh, picking up the beach ball and throwing it. "I remember one time when she was 6, she got a hold of some scissors and cut off a huge chunk of her older brother's hair in his sleep. He had been trying to grow a portion of his bangs out because he said he wanted to be 'emo', so you can imagine his surprise when all of his hard work was suddenly gone. He wouldn't talk to her for a week!"

Hitomi sunk herself into the water, only half of her face above the surface. Her face burned as the girls laughed at the story, mortified that her childhood antics were being exposed.

Nari continued to tell the girls more childhood stories before Jirou took a glance at her neck.

"I'm sorry if it's rude of me to ask, but I've just been wondering. What's that?" Jirou pointed to a scar on Nari's neck that was poking out of her swimsuit.

Nari followed her gaze, pulling back the swimsuit to reveal more of the scar. "Oh, this? It happened a few years ago."

"I'm going to the bathroom," Hitomi suddenly interjected, quickly jumping out of the pool and hurrying away.

The girls didn't miss the way Hitomi's face suddenly looked distraught.

"I wonder what's wrong…" Yaoyorozu said, feeling concern for her classmate.

"Hitomi was there when it happened," Nari explained. "She doesn't really like to remember or talk about it."

"What happened?" Uraraka asked.

Nari held the beach ball, looking up at the sky as she remembered the day she could've died.

"Well, I don't know if you knew already, but Hitomi actually moved to America back when she was 9. My family flew over to visit one time during summer break back when we were about 12. We were at a shopping mall one day, and there ended up being a villain attack there."

The Class 1-A girls' eyes all widened in surprise as Nari continued.

"The villain appeared right in front of me and Hitomi, and ended up taking me as a hostage." Nari placed a hand on the scar, recalling the fear she'd felt that day. "He had some kind of claw quirk, and sliced me from my neck to my chest before the heroes were finally able to apprehend him.

Hitomi never likes talking about it because she thinks it's her fault I ended up like this; she still believes to this day she should've been able to protect me, no matter how many times I try to tell her she shouldn't need to feel guilty."

The girls were all silent, the atmosphere settling into one of gloom.

"I'm so sorry I brought it up…" Jirou said, feeling guilty over draining the fun out of their pool day.

"It's okay!" Nari reassured her, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm not bothered by it or anything! Y'know, Hitomi actually decided to become a hero because of that incident, so at least something good came out of it, right?"

"I suppose that _is_ true…" Yaoyorozu said. "Her current skills are already quite amazing."

"Right?" Nari replied. "Our families watched her at the sports festival! She was so badass!"

Uraraka nodded her head in agreement. "Wasn't she?! She was super cool, especially when she was fighting Bakugou!"

The mood finally started to lift to its previous happy state as Nari began to pass around the beach ball again, the girls discussing Hitomi's fight with the ash blonde.

"I'm back," a voice sounded by the edge of the pool, turning out to be the girl in question. Hitomi took a seat on the edge, cracking open a can of orange juice she'd likely gotten from the cooler Iida had brought. "Whatcha talking about?"

"Your fight with Bakugou," Mina replied.

Hitomi's eyebrow twitched, remembering her loss as she sipped her drink. "Hm? Why?"

"Because it was so cool!" Uraraka said. "You even smashed him down into the ground! That's not easy, especially when it's Bakugou you're dealing with."

"It… wasn't really. If anything, Bakugou was the cool one. He's the one who won the sports festival, after all."

Nari suddenly splashed water into Hitomi's face, making her spill some of her juice. "Quit denying it, dummy! You're way too modest!"

"Eh?! But it really wasn't that cool…"

Nari observed Hitomi's embarrassed face as the other girls laughed, relieved that there were no more signs of turmoil.

* * *

**A/N: If y'all caught that "emo" comment about Hitomi's older brother, his hair was somewhat based off Ray's from The Promised Neverland- *coughcough***

**Also, that haircut story? It's true, lol. I did it, to myself. According to my mom, I got a hold of some scissors when I was like 4 and chopped a lot of my hair off, leaving me with a pixie cut when I was younger.**


	26. Happy Birthday, Hitomi!

**A/N: We're finally at my girl's birthday!**

**This is by far the longest chapter in my entire fic (and will likely stay that way), coming in at 2,204 words. I had to get this all out in one chapter and just ended up writing SO MUCH. This chapter IS somewhat plot-relevant, because it's going to kind of plant the seed(?) I want to try developing more later on.**

**Art - Add ****/22fi9bf308ih to the DeviantArt Stash URL**

* * *

Nari lay down on Hitomi's bed, swinging her feet as she scrolled through her best friend's phone. Hitomi was seated at her desk next to her, watching a YouTube video of a guy trying to power a car with lemons. It was now the week after final exams, and Nari had come over to hang out for the day.

"What are you even doing with my phone?"

"Just snooping through your messages. I wanna see what kind of stuff heroes-in-training talk about!"

"Well, you're not gonna find anything interesting…"

Nari stopped scrolling when a name in Hitomi's contacts caught her eye.

_Kirishima (Sunshine-y Boy)._

"Hey, Hitomi. Who's Kirishima, again?"

"Hm? Oh, he's the one with spiky red hair. The first friend I made at UA, remember? He's really nice."

Hitomi turned back to watch her video as Nari opened Kirishima's contact page, pulling her own phone out.

_Let's see…_

She copied the number to her own phone, setting Hitomi's phone down to message the redhead.

_Hey, it's Nari. Hitomi's friend._

_Oh, hey! Did Hitomi give you my number?_

_No, I copied it from her phone when she wasn't looking._

_Oh, so what's up?_

_Did you know Hitomi's birthday is in a few days?_

_Woah, really? She never told me when it was!_

_Listen, I kinda wanna surprise her this year since it's her first birthday back here after she moved to America. Can you help me?_

_Of course! Just tell me what you need. Oh, I can get the rest of the class to help too!_

_Perfect._

* * *

_July 11_

Nari barged into Hitomi's room only to find the bluenette still asleep.

"Happy birthday, Hitomi! Wake up, I've got plans for you today!" She tried shaking her friend awake, but Hitomi only glanced at the clock to see it was 8 o'clock before pulling the blanket over herself.

"It's too early, Nari… You know I hate waking up before 9 if I don't have to…!"

"Aw, come on," Nari said, trying to yank the blanket away. She was unsuccessful, as Hitomi's hero training made her stronger than the blonde. "You gotta get up so you can make the most out of today! It's your birthday! Come on, I've got stuff planned for you. We won't be able to do it all if you don't get up."

Hitomi shuffled under the blankets until she sighed, throwing them off as she got up from her bed. "Fine, fine. You win. Just let me shower and get changed…"

"Alright!" Nari cheered, dashing out of the room as she closed the door behind her. "Today's gonna be awesome, I guarantee it!"

* * *

_3:30 PM…_

Hitomi slumped to the floor as the song finished, the Dance Dance Revolution machine announcing Nari as the winner.

"Yes!" Nari exclaimed as she pumped her fist.

"That's not fair…" Hitomi sighed. "Even though I may have better stamina from training, _you're_ the one who's actually good at dancing… How do you even get the steps so quickly?!"

"It's pure skill, Hitomi…" Nari said as they stepped off the dance pads. "Well, that and a _lot_ of practice."

Hitomi huffed as they left the arcade, that DDR round using up the last of the game credit stored on their arcade cards.

"So… what now?" Hitomi asked. "We watched that movie I've been wanting to see for a while and then the arcade; what else you got planned?"

Nari's phone buzzed as they walked down the street, prompting her to pull it out.

It was a message from Kirishima.

_We're all set!_

_Great! Give us maybe 15 minutes?_

_Got it._

Hitomi had stopped in front of a store, staring at the display as she waited for Nari to catch up.

"Sorry about that!" Nari chirped. "Just had to text a friend real quick. As for your question, you okay with getting some boba? We can just stop by the place that I work at."

"Oh, okay then."

* * *

Hitomi followed Nari to the boba shop around the corner, already anticipating getting her favorite drink along with an indulgent snack.

Nari worked at a locally owned boba shop, popular for its unique flavors, homey treats, and small meals. Hitomi went there quite often just to hang out with Nari, so the owner knew her personally.

Hitomi blinked as they approached the building, noticing the lack of customers through the window and the "Closed" sign by the door.

_That's weird…_

She saw Nari type something out on her phone before she pulled out a key, unlocking the door.

"Hey, wait… Is it okay for us to go in?"

Nari waved her off. "It's fine! Besides, the boss knew I'd be coming in today for your birthday; she's fine with it since you're a regular."

"But she didn't have to close for today because of me, right…?"

"Oh, don't worry," Nari said, pushing open the door. "It was open earlier this morning; she only closed it about… 2 hours ago…?"

Hitomi had a confused look on her face as she followed her friend inside. "But, why-?"

"SURPRISE!"

Hitomi stopped as a chorus of voices chimed, nearly tripping over her own two feet as she saw her classmates jump out of various hiding places, whether it be from under tables or the storage closet in the back.

"Uh-?! What?"

Hitomi stared dumbfounded as more of her classmates appeared from the back room, feeling her cheeks turn red from embarrassment. "What, what?! What's going on?"

"Happy birthday, Hitomi!" Kirishima said as he approached her, clapping her on the back. "You didn't tell me your birthday was so soon!"

"Huh?! What are you all doing here? How'd you find out about my birthday?"

Her head swiveled around to glare at Nari, who only wore an innocent smile on her face.

"Nari! Did you tell him? Is that why you were messing around with my phone last week?"

Nari shrugged as she laughed. "Took you long enough to catch me. Of course I told him!"

"But why?! You know I would've been fine just hanging out today…"

"That's just it, though. I know you say you're always fine with just a nice dinner for your birthday or whatever, but that's so… uneventful. It's your first birthday back here in Japan since you left, so I thought I'd make it a lot more fun this time. Look, your whole class came!"

Hitomi glanced at the class to see that yes, everyone was in fact here. Even Bakugou and Todoroki had come, which surprised her to say the least.

It meant a lot to her that everyone decided to celebrate her birthday like this.

She beamed as she willed the blush on her cheeks to fade, turning to face the class properly.

"... thank you, everyone."

* * *

It turned out to be one of the most fun birthdays Hitomi had ever had, laughing with her classmates and chatting with everyone.

Nari provided everyone with food and drinks with the help of her boss, running around the shop to get Class 1-A their meals.

"Nari, shouldn't you take a break?" Hitomi asked as the blonde passed by. "You shouldn't have to work while we're all here…"

"It's fine!" Nari reassured her, a cheeky smile on her face. "I already had fun with you today. Setting this whole thing up is my birthday gift to you, so don't worry about it! Besides, someone's gotta provide the food here, right? I'm practically the only one qualified to do it; I work here after all," she said as she placed a hand on her chest with confidence.

Hitomi laughed. "I suppose so… thank you, Nari. You're the best. Just don't work too much, okay?"

"Jeez, you sound like a doting mom. Don't worry, I've got help," Nari smiled as she pointed to the back room, referring to her boss. "Just have fun."

Hitomi nodded as the blonde turned around to return to the counter, Uraraka catching her attention to ask about life in America.

* * *

Hitomi felt like a spotlight was shining on her as her classmates presented her with gifts, feeling like she wanted to combust at all the attention.

"You guys didn't have to get me anything…!" she exclaimed as she waved her arms around in embarrassment. "Just being here was enough!"

"What kind of friends would we be if we didn't?" Kirishima said, pushing his present towards her. "It's your birthday, just take them!"

Hitomi felt her face burn as her classmates and Nari all gathered around her, swarming her with presents of various shapes and sizes.

_It's too much…!_

She made sure to thank each and every one of her classmates as she opened their gifts one by one, feeling flustered each time.

She'd received various articles of clothing and gift cards among other things. Jirou had gotten her albums of bands she thought Hitomi might like, Sato had baked her the birthday cake, and Kaminari had gotten her an adorable giant Pikachu plush she would definitely cuddle in her sleep. Yaoyorozu gifted her a beautiful tea set, and Iida had given her a very nice pair of sneakers she could use when training.

There were two only two gifts left to open, unnoticed until now because of their small sizes.

She grabbed the smaller one first, a small gold box with a simple red bow on top. Reading the tag, she realized it was from Bakugou.

She sweatdropped, feeling his eyes on her as she untied the bow.

_Let's see what it is…_

She opened the lid to find a gift card sitting on top, recognizing it was for a designer brand store her own allowance would shrivel at if she ever bought anything there.

She turned it over to look on the back, her eyes widening as she saw that it held more than 16,000 yen (~$150).

Her hands shook as she looked at Bakugou, a distraught look on her face. "Bakugou, why'd you get me something so expensive?! I could never even afford anything from here with my own money!"

Bakugou tched at Hitomi's outburst. "Your cheap-ass American clothing always bugs me whenever you wear it, so I thought you might as well get something actually decent. Besides, there's more in the box."

Hitomi turned back to the box, picking it up to see clip-on earrings sat inside. She pulled one out, holding it up to see it was in a crescent shape, light blue gems lining the edges to look like a moon. Small star charms hung from the bottom, completing its nightly theme.

Hitomi was awestruck with how pretty it was.

"Wow, how cute!" Mina exclaimed, leaning over Hitomi's shoulder for a better look. "Hey, it reminds me of your hero name!"

_She's right…_

Hitomi felt herself blush as she stared at the earrings. She wouldn't have expected it from him, but it seemed he payed attention the day she told the class her hero name. Bakugou knew the sentimental value her name carried, and chose something based off of that.

Well, maybe it was just a coincidence, but the thought made her heart flutter nonetheless.

Hitomi turned to look at the ash blonde, a genuine smile on her face. "Thank you, Bakugou. They're beautiful."

Kaminari crossed his arms as Hitomi put Bakugou's gift away. "Never thought you'd be so thoughtful, Bakugou," he said. "Always feel the need to be the best, even in giving gifts, huh? Although, to be honest, I'm surprised you even got one at all…"

The ash blonde scowled at him as Hitomi pulled the last gift towards her. "Of course I'd bring something. You'd have to be rude and dumb as hell not to bring anything for someone's birthday, you idiot!"

Hitomi saw the last gift was from Todoroki as she tore the wrapping paper open, revealing a slim burgundy box. She gasped as she opened it, feeling her shoulders tense as she stared at the necklace inside.

It had floral accents weaving down the chain, coming down to accentuate a beautiful butterfly pendant.

Hitomi was stunned into silence.

It was really, really nice. It also looked really, really _expensive._

Todoroki must've thought something was wrong, because he looked at her with concern. "Do you not like it…? I didn't really know what you liked, so I just got something that looked nice…"

"Todoroki, how much did this cost…?"

The boy only shrugged. "Don't worry about the price. I used my old man's money to pay for it."

Hitomi blinked, shutting the box closed. "Actually, you know what, don't tell me. It's better if I don't know. If you told me how much it cost, I would probably never wear it until I'm dead.

It's really pretty, Todoroki. Thank you! Although I probably won't wear it unless it's for very special occasions…"

Todoroki returned her gratitude with a small smile. "That's okay."

Kirishima nudged Bakugou as Hitomi put everything away, smirking at him. "Looks like you got upstaged again by Todoroki, huh?"

Bakugou scoffed as the class dispersed to help clean up the shop, grabbing some plates to throw in the trash. "Whatever, Kirishima. It's not expensive enough that she'll only save it for special shit; at least I know she'll actually wear them."

"Whatever you say, man…"

* * *

**A/N: When you realize this chapter is Hitomi and Todoroki's one and only interaction oh no-**

**If Nari seems a little over the top or anything it's because she's always trying to keep Hitomi happy, as she saw firsthand the tired and depressive state Hitomi fell into for the first few months after "the incident". She tries her best to keep Hitomi as far away as possible from those feelings.**

**I rub my hands together and cackle like a dorky villain as I plant the start of Bakutomi mwahaha... I mean, do you guys remember in Hitomi vs. Bakugou how I said, "the relationship I want to write between those two"? Things will happen, feelings MAY develop, and it'll likely stay one-sided. Unless... you guys don't want it to be...👀**

**Another quick note: I'll be taking a quick one week break to let myself rest from updates, and also so I can draw up more chapters in preparation. I didn't have drawings for this chapter originally because I didn't realize her birthday was coming up until a few weeks ago, and I kinda fell behind on drawing chapters anyway because I started watching Stranger Things, haha...**

**So I'll be taking a one-week hiatus. And guess what? The MHA movie will be a part of this fic! It'll be the upcoming chapters. I won't give you the details, but basically it'll be more setup for Bakutomi. *wink wink***


	27. What Kind of Date? (Two Heroes Movie)

**A/N: Ok! I am back from my break and did not catch up on my drawings like I said I would at all! My defense is that I was in Disneyland last week and just came back from camping this week. Sometimes I really wish I had an iPad Pro because then I could make art while I'm traveling...**

**So the movie chapters will take up about four chapters total, and there ARE slight spoilers for the plot of the movie. If you haven't seen the movie, WHAT are you doing go watch it! It's good. I wouldn't suggest skipping these chapters because they're a part of the romantic plot between Hitomi and Bakugou.**

**Art - Add /217l2x0b2xhp to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi followed Mina, Tsuyu, and Tooru out of the airport, taking in the sight before her. She felt like her breath was taken away as she marveled at the attractions on I-Island she could currently see.

"We're finally here!" Mina shouted, excited.

The other girls cheered before they proceeded to run down the staircase, pulling their luggage along with them.

All of Class 1-A had traveled to I-Island for the event known as I-Expo, but only a select few would be able to go to see the Expo early and attend the banquet held the night before the grand opening.

Yaoyorozu was invited to said banquet, and had two extra invites. After an impartial game of rock-paper-scissors between the girls, Jirou and Uraraka were selected to join Yaoyorozu at the event.

Hitomi was a little bummed out she couldn't go as she followed the other girls to their hotel, but she decided she shouldn't worry about it so much anymore. Even after she and the other girls had lost, Yaoyorozu had been kind enough to purchase plane tickets and set up a very nice hotel room for them so everyone could explore the Expo together once it was open to the public.

"Ochako-chan and Kyoka-chan sure are lucky…" Mina said as they entered their hotel.

"Well," Tsuyu said after they'd checked in, "tomorrow we'll all go together to explore. Just bear with it a little longer, Mina-chan."

* * *

Hitomi was scrolling through her phone when a loud beep noise on the TV caught her attention.

She sat up from her place on the bed, seeing the words "_EMERGENCY_" in bold letters on the screen.

"_We have received a report from the security system that an explosive device was placed in the I-Expo area."_

"A bomb?!" Hitomi said as the announcement continued. "Wait, isn't that where Yaoyorozu and all the others are?"

"No way… " Tooru mumbled.

"Will everything be okay…?" Mina asked.

Tsuyu turned to the girls as she placed a finger on her chin. "We'll be okay as long we follow directions. As for the others, I'm sure they're okay. They can handle themselves."

"I guess you're right…" Hitomi trailed off.

…

Tsuyu had pulled open her laptop, trying to go online only to find it was futile. "It looks like we can't use the Internet."

Hitomi grabbed her phone, noticing it displayed the words "No Service" at the top. "Hm? My phone can't get a signal."

"We can't watch TV anymore, either," Mina said as she tried to flip through the channels, only for the "_EMERGENCY_" message to keep popping up.

"It can't be helped!" Tooru exclaimed, holding up a stack of cards. "Why don't we play Uno until they find the bomb?"

…

Hitomi let out an evil laugh when it was finally her turn. "You've made a mistake, challenging me."

She placed her last card on the pile, revealing a +4 card.

Mina threw her cards up in the air in frustration while the other two girls sighed as they placed their cards down. "WAAGH, how do you keep winning?! This is the fourth time in a row, and you got so many cards at the beginning!"

Hitomi laughed, an overconfident smile on her face as Tooru reshuffled the cards. "It's all about how you use your cards, Mina. Tactics, strategy. Manipulating the opponent."

"It's a card game!" Mina protested.

The pink girl picked up her cards after Tooru dealt them out, arranging them in her hands as she said, "I'll beat you this time for sure!"

"Sure, just like you said you would the last three times," Hitomi teased as she picked up her cards.

…

"So girls, I was thinking," Mina said as she placed a red +2 down. "Wouldn't this place be amazing for a date?!"

Hitomi scowled, grabbing two cards from the deck before placing a red 7 on the pile. Next to her, Tooru gasped. "Oh my gosh, you're right! With all the attractions there are here, there'd always be something fun to try! A date here would be amazing! What do you think, Tsuyu-chan?"

The girl in question had a contemplative look on her face as she set a blue 7 down, before saying, "This place really _does_ have a lot of things you could enjoy. If it were up to me, though, my ideal date would be to go swimming, like a beach day or something."

"Heeeh…" Mina said as Tooru put a blue 3 on the pile. "That sounds just like you, Tsuyu-chan."

Tsuyu made a "ribbit" sound as she blushed, before Mina suddenly turned to Hitomi.

"How about you, Hitomi-chan?"

Hitomi jolted as Mina placed a wild card on the pile, picking the color green.

"Me?!" Hitomi asked as her cheeks turned red.

"Yeah," Mina replied. "What would your ideal date be?"

Hitomi stuttered before looking back at her cards, picking out a green reverse card to put on the pile.

"Um, I've never really thought about it before… I mean, it's not like I've ever been on a date anyway, so I don't really know what it's like…" Hitomi tried to look anywhere else in the room as the others looked at her in shock.

"WHAT?!" Mina shouted, putting her cards down. "You mean you've never been asked out before?!"

"No…" Hitomi said as a faraway look appeared in her eyes. "I'm gonna die alone…"

"But you're so… amazing!" Mina exclaimed.

Hitomi held her cards close to her chest as her face burned. "Come on, Mina, I'm not _that_ great. It's probably because I just tended to be way too quiet that none of my classmates ever noticed me. At the schools I went to back in America, classes didn't have the same camaraderie we seem to have here." Hitomi stared at her cards, remembering how she always felt just a little bit more lonely whenever she found she had no friends in her classes. "The school system in America is different from here. In the schools I went to, you had to switch classrooms for each subject, meaning you had a different teacher and different classmates each period. It doesn't have the same 'togetherness' like what I feel over here."

"Wow, I never knew…" Tooru trailed off.

Mina picked her cards back up as she spoke. "Well, the guys in America are missing out. They missed their chance with you!"

Hitomi let out a sheepish laugh as Mina finally placed a card on the pile. What she didn't know was that Mina hadn't let her question of dating slide. "So, if you had to decide, Hitomi-chan, what would your ideal date be?!"

"Wha?! We're still on this?"

"Yes we are. I need to know!"

Hitomi sighed as she realized Mina wouldn't let it rest until she got an answer.

_What _would _my ideal date be?_

"Um, well…" Hitomi started, contemplating. "Personally I wouldn't want a movie as a _first_ date. If I had to pick… hm."

The girls all stared at her, awaiting her answer.

"Maybe an amusement park?" Hitomi said. "Something where you'd need to talk things out, because disagreements can spring up on where to go. Silence probably wouldn't happen too often, because you'd need to discuss with each other what you'd want to do. You could walk through the attractions together, have food, go on rides. If you're able to have a lot of fun together, it'd be nice. Maybe watch the sunset if there's a ferris wheel…?"

Hitomi stopped, realizing she had rambled. "Wah, sorry! I got carried away…"

"No, that sounds fun!" Mina exclaimed as they returned to their game. "Ending the date with a sunset, huh~?"

That's quite romantic of you, Hitomi-chan," Tsuyu said.

Hitomi spluttered, not realizing the girls had banded together to stack +2's on her.

Hitomi grumbled as she took six cards from the deck.

* * *

**A/N: Have I mentioned that I absolutely love UNO? So when they showed it in the movie I was like "WHAT?!" It's always the funniest thing when I play UNO with my friends because they're always used to me winning; one time two of my friends just played by themselves and it dragged on so long they asked me to join just to move the game along. I won :P**


	28. Exploring I-Expo (Two Heroes Movie)

**A/N: Woohoo new chapter! This actually contains minor spoilers for the conflict of the movie, so if you haven't already... GO WATCH IT! Please... it's a good movie...**

**Art - Add ****/2ku97xnrowf to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi sat with Kirishima and the others as Class 1-A enjoyed a barbecue with All Might. The redhead had told her everything about what had happened at the central tower, revealing that it was not a bomb that activated the security system, but a group of villains that had hacked into it.

Apparently the villains had targeted an invention created by the lead scientist of I-Island, David Shield, that was locked in the tower, said to have the power to amplify quirks. Kirishima and several other of their classmates that had been invited to the banquet all worked together with David's daughter, Melissa, to get the security system back in working order, as well as stop the villains from escaping. They were clearly successful, because everyone along with All Might was enjoying lunch together, the incident behind them.

Hitomi was having a drink of water when Mina got up from their table, which consisted of her, Hitomi, Kirishima, Bakugou, Kaminari, and Sero.

"Now that we're all done," Mina exclaimed, "it's time to explore!"

…

Hitomi trailed after what she'd dubbed the "Bakusquad", because basically everyone was just following Bakugou through I-Island, save for herself. She was just following Kirishima.

Mina and Kaminari kept pointing out the sights, making the group stop every few minutes to marvel at the attractions.

After a while, the group stopped in front of a large tent, with a sign that said "ARCADE" at the top.

"Let's go inside!" Kaminari yelled as he and the others ran into the tent.

Hitomi and Bakugou were the only ones left outside.

"After all that time pointing out those grand attractions…" the blonde muttered, "the thing those idiots wanna check out is an _arcade_?" He scowled, but followed them inside nonetheless.

Hitomi watched the boy enter the tent, laughing at their group's antics as she trailed after him.

…

The bluenette explored the arcade a little, taking in all the different types of games before she finally found one of her classmates.

She came up behind Bakugou, peering over his shoulder to see he was playing a fighting game of some sort.

She saw Bakugou smirk as he won, surprising him a little when she said "Looks like fun."

"Huh? Shouldn't you be with Kirishima or something?"

Hitomi let out a small laugh, scratching her cheek. "I don't know where he went. This arcade is way too big. Can… I play with you…?"

_Hitomi. What are you doing._

_...well, he's the only one I've found in the entire 20 minutes we've been in here, so…_

_Might as well entertain myself._

Bakugou turned back to the screen, saying, "Fine. But don't cry when I beat your ass."

He made room for her as Hitomi dropped some coins into the machine, prompting open the character selection screen for her.

…

Out of the corner of her eye Hitomi could see Bakugou get increasingly frustrated as his character's health dwindled rapidly, his hands starting to mash the buttons on the machine before Hitomi finished his character off with a 7-hit combo.

He made a strangled noise of anger as the game announced Hitomi as the winner, turning to the bluenette and muttering, "Rematch. Now."

"Eh?! Um, if you say so…"

They inserted more coins into the machine, picking their characters and selecting the stage.

As soon as the countdown finished, Bakugou went on the offensive, doing repeated attacks and cornering Hitomi's character to the edge of the screen.

After a few hits from Bakugou's character, Hitomi managed to get her character to jump out of the way, turning the tables and setting off combo after combo on Bakugou's character.

"The hell?!" Bakugou yelled as his character fainted. "Again?!"

Hitomi could see tick marks appear on Bakugou's face, and afraid of causing a scene, she grabbed his arm without thinking and dragged him away from the machine.

"Um! Let's go find something else."

…

Bakugou decided to make a competition out of the whole debacle, feeling so petty he challenged Hitomi to see who was better at video games.

The girl only went along with it, deciding being with someone she knew was better than ending up alone in this place.

The two had tried three different games already, Bakugou only beating her in one of them. His screaming and yelling were apparently loud enough that it caught the attention of the rest of the group, them finally regrouping and watching as Hitomi and Bakugou raced each other in Mario Kart.

Mina leaned on Hitomi's seat, cheering the bluenette on as she and Bakugou kept switching between 1st and 2nd place.

Hitomi managed to get Bakugou to slip on a banana peel, leading to her victory for the fourth time that day.

"You're surprisingly good at video games, Hitomi," Kirishima said as Bakugou kept banging his head against the steering wheel in rage.

Hitomi got up from the seat, a sheepish smile on her face as she readjusted her bag. "My older brother's studying to be a game developer. You get pretty good at them when someone keeps making you test out their games all the time."

Kaminari pulled out his phone, seeing it was already 3:30. "Shoot, we've been here for 2 hours already?! We should get going if we want to see more of the Expo."

"Yeah, better get out of here before I continue to wipe the floor with Bakugou's pride," Hitomi teased, surprising the others with her sudden boldness.

"Shut up!" Bakugou yelled as they left the arcade. "You didn't even beat me at all of them!"

"That was only because you distracted me by elbowing me with your erratic button mashing, dummy!" Hitomi argued back.

_I can't beat him in a real fight, but I can at least beat him in video games..._

* * *

**A/N: Some more characterization on Hitomi's part! I actually had an extra chapter written that took place after her birthday (consider it a Ch. 25.5 if you will) and featured her older brother in it. It actually mentions how they play video games together because he got her a Nintendo Switch for her birthday, but I never posted it. It was SUPPOSED to be a comic, but I was camping and wrote it instead to get it out of my system. Only one person's read it.**

**By the way, Hitomi officially has an Instagram account! Her username is hitomi . mimii (delete spaces), where I post extra content of her, Nari, and a new OC that I haven't mentioned yet. I've also been working on their Toyhouse profiles, but those aren't finished yet.**


	29. Scavenger Hunt (Two Heroes Movie)

**A/N: Y'all asked for this, and I'm warning you now: Bakutomi is gonna be a PAINFULLY LONG slow-burn.**

**And this is just the very start of it.**

**Art - Add ****/21dlhmfonw39 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi giggled as Mina twirled around on the walkway, mimicking the dance moves of the band they had just finished watching perform.

The group had been walking around the Expo for half an hour after leaving the arcade before Kaminari and Mina heard the sound of singing, following the noise and leading the group to a small music show. Apparently a band from South Korea had been flown in to feature at the Expo, hence why Mina was imitating their complex dance as the group continued to walk down the street.

They walked around for another 20 minutes before Hitomi turned around, wanting to ask Kirishima something.

He, Mina, Kaminari, and Sero were all missing.

"Bakugou, wait," she called to the blonde trailing in front of her.

He stopped, turning to see their group of six was now two before groaning. "Aw, fuck. Are you kidding me?! Where'd they run off to this time?"

Hitomi pulled out her phone, about to call Kirishima before she noticed a text from the redhead.

_Sorry, Hitomi! Kaminari and Mina roped us into this horror walk-through attraction before we could tell you._

_The employees told us it'll take as long as an hour and a half to two hours and that we need to leave our phones on silent to get "the best experience"._

_I'll call you when we're out, but for now maybe try and have some fun with Bakugou?_

_Again, sorry! I'll make it up to you, I promise!_

Hitomi sighed, closing the message and putting her phone away.

_Oh Kirishima, you innocent idiot…_

She turned to Bakugou, the boy still waiting for an answer.

"They're off in some horror attraction, and Kirishima said it'll take a while. We'll have to find something to do for at least two hours."

Bakugou rolled his eyes, turning back around to continue walking as Hitomi followed him. "Those idiots, begging me to walk around with them and then running off without a word…" she heard him mutter.

He sounded annoyed, but Hitomi could tell there was no bite in his words.

* * *

The two had been walking for less than 10 minutes before Hitomi abruptly grabbed Bakugou's sleeve, stopping him in his tracks.

"What?" he muttered.

Hitomi pointed at a sign labeled "Scavenger Hunt" and turned to him with an enthusiastic smile on her face.

"Let's do that!"

Bakugou stared at the building it was likely taking place in before turning back to face the walkway. "No. It's probably for little kids."

"Aw, come on!" Hitomi protested. "Did you even _read_ the sign?! It says if you finish it within an hour, you get passes that give you free access to all the restaurants and food vendors! It's based on hero laws and quirk society; we're literally studying all of that! We could win free passes to all the food here, Bakugou!"

Bakugou turned back to read the sign in full this time, realizing everything his companion had said was true.

"Besides," Hitomi continued, "you can't do it individually. You need a group of two or more! C'mon Bakugou, don't you want to get free food for basically the rest of the week?"

A cocky smirk emerged on his face as he began to walk towards the building.

"Fine, let's destroy this scavenger hunt."

* * *

Hitomi and Bakugou had been gifted layouts of the building along with a small piece of paper, a riddle written on it that would hint them towards the first item.

"So this takes place in one of the school buildings on the island, huh…?" Hitomi remarked as she looked over the map, noticing the array of classrooms. "What's the riddle say?"

Bakugou picked up the small piece of paper, looking it over before reading it aloud.

"'_The origin of superhuman society_

_More than several thousand kilometers from Japan_

_One who glowed brightly_

_And the advent of quirks all began._'"

He put down the paper, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle a laugh. "Holy shit. That sounds so fucking dorky."

Hitomi lightly smacked him on the arm, looking at him in exasperation. "Don't laugh! People worked hard to make this stuff up!" She looked back at the map as Bakugou calmed himself, remembering the riddle. "That one sounds pretty easy. The glowing baby that was in Qing Qing City, right? So we just need to find a world map."

Bakugou peered at the floor plan in Hitomi's hands, pointing to a specific spot. "There. History Department."

"Okay, let's go!"

…

Hitomi shoved open the door, a sigh of relief as they entered the classroom. "Finally, one that's unlocked…"

Bakugou walked towards the map in the back of the classroom, finding a small envelope taped underneath China on the map.

He pulled it open, taking out another small piece of paper.

"What's that one say?" Hitomi said as she tried to look over his shoulder, with little to no luck due to their height difference.

"'_A popular theory_

_A virus carried by some_

_The cause of paranormality_

_Made society what it's become.'_

...Jesus fuck, I sound stupid."

"It'll all be worth it, Bakugou," Hitomi said as she pulled open the building map. "Besides, at least I'm not Kaminari or anything. He'd tease you forever for this. I'll only tease you for today."

Some tick marks appeared on Bakugou's face as he crushed the paper in his hand. "Oh, fuck off!"

Hitomi laughed as she repeated the riddle in her head.

"A theory…? But there's so many out there…"

Bakugou rolled his eyes, clicking his tongue as he pointed to another spot on the map. "They're talking about the rat disease theory, dumbass. They probably want us to check the chemistry lab."

"Oh! But that one's never had any evidence to back it up…"

"Well, it matches up with that 'virus' shit, so it's all we got. Hurry up, we've got 45 minutes left before our hour's up."

* * *

Hitomi plopped down onto the bench beside Bakugou, putting her newly gained all-access food pass in her bag.

The two had finished the scavenger hunt with 10 minutes to spare, winning their prize of free food for the rest of their time at the Expo. Now, they were taking a break to eat crepes with their new passes.

Bakugou stared at Hitomi's crepe with disdain as the girl took a bite.

It had strawberries and Nutella filling the inside, topped with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream to finish the sweet treat off.

Bakugou's crepe, on the other hand, was more savory, being filled with spinach, cheese, and chicken, with curry sauce to bring it all together.

Hitomi pulled out her phone as the two ate their food, seeing it was 5:20 PM. They still had at least an hour before Kirishima and the others were done, meaning they had to find something new to do.

Hitomi looked around at the other attractions she could see from their bench, her eyes falling on one not that far away.

Yes, that one would be fun to try.

* * *

**A/N: Those riddles I made are dumb, I'm cringing...**

**I've noticed that Bakugou comes off a lot quieter and calmer when I write original content without any influence from the anime, so I hope their interactions are realistic and not out of character. I also really hope it doesn't come off as forced either.**

**I've got so much planned for how it'll play out, you guys have no idea.**


	30. The Sunset From the Ferris Wheel (Movie)

**A/N: Ok, so! Hitomi and Bakugou have an hour left to burn, so what do they do? Is that title foreshadowing, I wonder...**

**Art - Add /2i49zjqgvrq to the DeviantArt Stash URL**

* * *

"Okay," Hitomi said as she sprung up from the bench, "I have an idea for what we can do next. Unless… there's anything you want to do…?"

Bakugou shrugged. "I don't really care. As long as it's not stupid like a 'Tunnel of Love' or some shit."

Hitomi turned away, feeling her face burn as she nervously laughed. "Oh please. There's no way I'd put myself through that with you."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?!"

Hitomi waved him off. "I _mean_ we'd _both_ get annoyed. It'd be a waste of time."

_The fact that you even mentioned that makes it sound like a date…_

"Anyways, it's not that. We just have to walk in that direction," Hitomi pointed somewhere, "and it'll be straight up ahead. I bet it'll be super fun, I promise!"

…

It was about a three-minute walk before they stopped in front of a large roller coaster.

"Ta-da!" Hitomi exclaimed. "They call it the 'Hovercoaster'! Apparently after they studied Magnetism type quirks they used that research to create this ride! I read about it while we were eating."

Hitomi turned away from Bakugou to get in line, seeing the wait time was only 10 minutes.

"Oi."

The bluenette stopped in her tracks, turning around to hear what her companion had to say.

"You're not seriously planning on going on that thing after eating all that sweet shit, are you?"

_Oh. He's talking about the crepes._

Hitomi smiled at him, turning back around to enter the line. "Don't worry about it! I've handled way worse before."

Bakugou scoffed as he finally took his place next to her. "Whatever. Don't say I didn't warn you."

…

The ride had only taken about 3 minutes, and Hitomi had taken that time to scream and laugh as the wind blew her hair. As they finally stepped off the ride, however, she felt a twisting feeling in her stomach.

_Ah, shit._

She bolted to the nearest trash can, leaning over the edge and proceeding to hurl her guts out.

Behind her, she could hear Bakugou start laughing.

She looked over her shoulder at him with a glare. "I'm glad you're enjoying my misfortune, Bakugou." She turned back to the trash can, throwing up the last remnants of food churning in her stomach.

"I told you, I fucking _told_ you. Holy shit, you're dumber than I thought you were."

Hitomi wiped her mouth as she finally got up from the trash can, Bakugou's voice catching her attention.

"Here."

Hitomi staggered to catch something he tossed at her, finding it was a pack of mint gum.

"I don't wanna have to deal with your gross-ass breath for however long we're still here."

Hitomi made a small laugh, pocketing the gum for a quick second as she began to walk to the nearest food stand for some napkins and hand sanitizer.

"Thanks."

* * *

After Hitomi's whole "throwing up" fiasco, the two decided to do something more mellow with the time they had left. That meant Hitomi and Bakugou were now seated in a ferris wheel cabin, giving them a full view of the I-Expo.

"Wow, how beautiful…" Hitomi said, leaning against the window to take in the sight.

The sun was now setting, the light hitting the entire pavilion in a way that Hitomi couldn't help but marvel at it.

_Ah._

_A sunset…_

_Holy shit._

Hitomi felt herself get tense, recalling everything she and Bakugou had done in the last three hours.

The arcade, the scavenger hunt, the food, the thrill ride. Now they were watching the sunset as they looked at the pavilion from above.

It was exactly the type of date she'd described to the girls last night.

_But it's not a date, right?_

Hitomi side-eyed Bakugou from her seat, taking in the way the sunlight hit his face. He had a surprisingly content expression, Hitomi not used to seeing him without furrowed brows and a scowl.

It was a little weird, but nice too, and she couldn't help but stare.

He looked really, really pretty right now.

A phone suddenly started ringing, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between the two as well as Hitomi's thought process. Hitomi felt like her heart nearly jumped out of her throat, realizing what she'd just been thinking about THE Bakugou.

The ringing persisted, the bluenette finally noticing the vibration in her pocket. Hitomi fumbled to get her phone out as Bakugou's attention turned to her, her face getting red when she finally answered the call.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Hitomi! We're finally out!"_

"Well, took you long enough."

"Is that Kirishima?" Bakugou interrupted. Hitomi turned to him in confusion, noticing the tranquil look on his face had been replaced with one of annoyance. She nodded cautiously.

"Put him on speaker. _Now._"

Hitomi complied, telling the redhead they could both hear him now.

"_Hey, Bakugou!"_ Kirishima said cheerfully. "_Sorry about disappearing like that! Did you at least have fun with Hitomi?"_

"You idiots!" Bakugou blew up at him. "You can't just run off on your own without telling anyone! That's really fucking rude!"

"Jeez, I didn't know it was _that_ unpleasant being alone with me…" Hitomi said, a look of dejection on her face.

"That is _not_ what I fucking meant and you know it," Bakugou growled. He turned back to Hitomi's phone, asking Kirishima, "Where are you right now?!"

"_Oh, we're by that huge fountain that forms its own words with the water. You can't miss it,"_ the redhead replied.

Bakugou turned to the window, locating said fountain as their ferris wheel cabin began to descend, their ride coming to a close.

"Do _not_ move from that spot, you hear me, Shitty Hair?!" Bakugou said into Hitomi's phone.

"_Got it, got it."_

* * *

Bakugou stomped towards the others in fury, Hitomi following after him.

Kaminari waved at the two of them from his spot in front of the fountain, calling out. "Hey, you two!"

"You fucking idiot!" Bakugou yelled, getting up in Kamunari's face with a glare that could kill. "Just what the hell do you think you were doing?!"

"C'mon Bakugou…" Hitomi said as she stopped by Mina. "You can really just say it out loud if you didn't want to be alone with me."

"Bakugou, calm down," Kirishima said, pulling the blonde away from poor Kaminari. "Look, I'm sorry we ran off on our own like that. We can all have dinner together now if that'll help?"

Bakugou scoffed, looking away as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Fuck, whatever. Let's just go eat already, I'm starving."

* * *

**A/N: **

**EDIT: I reread through this and realized their interaction at the end could be misinterpreted, so I feel like clarification is in order. When Hitomi says she didn't realize it was unpleasant being alone with her, she's saying it in a teasing manner, not out of genuine dejection, because she just generally enjoys teasing her friends. When Bakugou replies with "that's not what I meant", he means it more as "don't twist my words" rather than trying to comfort Hitomi, because he's aware she's teasing him and is trying to get her to knock it off. Sorry if it wasn't clear, hope this helps you understand that exchange!**

**Boiled down to the basics the way I write Bakugou is to insert the f-word into every other one of his sentences lol**

**Okay, so we took some BIG (more like small, actually) steps towards Bakutomi development. It's kind of going to take a backseat in the upcoming arc, though, because I'll be focusing more on the actual anime plot, because... well, y'all know what happens.**


	31. Training Camp! Hell?

**A/N: Aaaaand we're back to the main anime!**

**While we got some Bakutomi development during the movie, will there be any more in the upcoming chapters despite what's going to happen?**

**...Maybe.**

**Art (I did complete drawings this time!) - Add /21vr33q6f6k7 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi pushed her bags into the storage compartment as Iida directed everyone into the bus, closing it shut.

Placing her phone and earbuds in her pocket, she climbed onto the bus, glancing at all the filled seats.

She sighed as she made her way to the back.

_Of course, since it's an uneven class…_

The class made loud chatter as she plopped into the window seat.

…

From the back she noticed Aizawa try to say something to the class, but Class 1-A was too loud for anyone to hear whatever he was saying. Hitomi saw him turn back around before she turned on her phone, glancing at her notifications.

She had several messages from her family and Nari, all wishing her a good time at the training camp.

Putting on her earbuds, she played some music as she watched the scenery pass by outside.

With music filling her ears paired with the smooth ride to camp, it didn't take long for Hitomi to fall asleep.

* * *

"Hey, Hitomi. Wake up."

Stirring awake, Hitomi opened her eyes to find Sero shaking her shoulder. Putting away her phone and earbuds, she stood up and followed Sero out of the bus.

"Where are we?"

"Just a rest stop," Sero replied. "Aizawa just sent me to wake you up."

As they stepped off the bus, they heard Midoriya's excited voice; he was talking about the Wild Wild Pussycats, the hero team that was at the rest stop with them.

They had just joined the rest of the class to see the pro hero Mandalay point at a faraway mountain, telling the class that was where their campsite was.

"Huh?" Uraraka asked. "Then why'd we stop here…?"

"Why don't we get back to the bus, huh?" Sato said, turning around.

"Eh? But we just got off…" Hitomi started, trying to ignore what they were implying before Mandalay spoke up.

"It's 9:30 a.m. right now," the pro hero said, a mischievous smile on her face. "If you're fast…

Maybe around noon?"

"No way… guys…" Kirishima suddenly ran towards the bus as Mina finished his sentence.

"Let's get back to the bus!"

Before anyone could get on, Mandalay's companion Pixie-Bob appeared in front of them, that same mischievous smile on her face.

"Please tell me you're joking…" Hitomi pleaded, knowing it was futile.

"Sorry, everyone," she heard Aizawa say. "Training camp has already begun."

The ground rumbled beneath the class before it swept them off the edge of the cliff and down into the forest below. Hitomi yelped as she hit the ground, hearing Mandalay's voice from above.

"Since it's private land, you can use your quirks as you wish! You have three hours! Come to the facility on your own two feet! After getting through… the Beasts' Forest!"

Everyone turned towards the forest as Kaminari spoke.

"The hell? That sounds like it came right out of Dragon Quest!"

Hitomi dusted her socks off as she watched Mineta run into the forest. "I can't believe they're only giving us until noon…"

Koda's cries caught her attention, leading her to see a large beast through the trees.

"WHAT IS THAT?!"

Koda tried to calm the large beast, but his quirk seemed to leave it unaffected. Midoriya dived in just in time to save Mineta from getting crushed.

Hitomi saw Todoroki, Iida, and Bakugou jump into the fray, all working together and destroying the beast.

She saw the creature crumble from the boys' attacks, the rich soil coming from it catching her eye.

_So it was made of dirt…_

As the boys finally settled from their attack, Kirishima complimented Bakugou, but the blonde only looked forward.

"Not yet."

Hitomi looked to see what Bakugou was staring at, noticing movement up ahead.

_There's more…_

"All right," Iida said as everyone turned towards the approaching dirt beasts. "Let's go, Class A!"

"_Yeah!"_

* * *

_5:20 PM…_

Hitomi cradled her hands as she followed the class into the clearing, collapsing to her knees once they stopped in front of Aizawa.

"What do you mean 'three hours'?!" Sero yelled as Kirishima fell down beside her.

"That's how long it would've taken us," Mandalay replied. "Sorry!"

"I'm hungry…" Kirishima wailed as he clutched his stomach. "I'm gonna die…"

Hitomi leaned on Kirishima as she tried to catch her breath. "I'm already dead…"

Pixie-Bob giggled. "Honestly, I thought it would take even longer. You guys didn't have as hard a time beating my earth beasts as I thought you would."

…

"Get your stuff off the bus," Aizawa told the class. "Once you've put your bags in your rooms, we'll have dinner in the cafeteria. After that, you'll bathe and go to sleep."

"Thank god…" Hitomi said as Aizawa continued. "I feel nasty…"

* * *

Hitomi sat between Iida and Tsuyu at dinner, sliding a plate of chicken katsu towards herself.

As she picked up some chopsticks, she felt a throbbing pain in her palms.

"OW!"

She dropped the chopsticks, causing the people around her to look at her in concern.

"Kanetsukabe-kun?" Iida asked as he turned to her. "What's wrong?"

Hitomi looked up from her hands, flustered over causing a scene. "Um, it's nothing…" she said with a sheepish look on her face. "I just overused my quirk in the forest a bit, that's all… I had some aloe vera and bandages in one of my bags, but I was in such a rush to eat I forgot to treat my hands…"

"Oh no, isn't that bad?!" Midoriya said as he put down his food. "Burns will take a long time to heal without Recovery Girl…"

"It's fine, really!" Hitomi replied as she held her hands up. "My body's used to it, remember?"

"Oh, right…"

"It'll probably be fully healed in a few hours… I just can't use my hands properly right now."

"So… you can't even use your hands to eat?"

"No…" Hitomi's face turned red, feeling especially embarrassed since Bakugou was sitting right across from her.

_He probably thinks this is pathetic…_

"Don't worry, Hitomi-chan," Tsuyu said. "I can feed you."

Hitomi felt like there could practically be steam coming out of her ears. "No, you don't have to do that, Tsuyu, really!"

"You need to eat, Kanetsukabe-kun!" Iida proclaimed. "Skipping a meal is bad for your health!"

Hitomi's face was completely red as her stomach grumbled, making her sigh. "...okay."

* * *

Hitomi followed the girls to the bath, noticing the hot steam as soon as they stepped out of the changing rooms.

"So Hitomi, you really haven't enjoyed a bathhouse before?" Jirou asked as they settled into the warm water.

Hitomi sighed, feeling her muscles relax. "No, not really. I don't remember them very well from when I was little. But this is nice."

Hitomi closed her eyes, enjoying the relaxing bath before she heard Iida's voice on the other side of the wall separating the men and women's baths.

"...what you are doing is demeaning for both yourself and the girls! It is shameful behavior!"

"Mineta, again, isn't it?" Jirou said as she sunk lower into the water.

"Don't worry," Yaoyorozu replied, pointing at the top of the wall. "We've got someone keeping an eye out for us."

Hitomi followed her gaze, her eyes landing on a young boy that appeared to be swatting someone's (likely Mineta's) hand away.

She realized it was Kota, the child Mandalay introduced as her nephew.

"Thanks, Kota!" Mina yelled, holding two thumbs up with her body in full view for the boy to see.

The young boy was likely embarrassed, because he fell backwards off the wall, leading Hitomi to cry out in worry.

"Kota…!"

She was about to get out of the water before she heard Midoriya's cry of "Look out!", making her sigh in relief.

"You need to be more mindful, Mina." Hitomi said, letting herself relax again.

The pink girl pouted before starting a conversation about who the girls thought was the most attractive boy in class.

* * *

The boys must've overheard their conversation, because they were having one of their own about the girls.

Hitomi tuned out the girls' conversation when she heard her name across the wall.

"...Yaoyorozu's definitely the most elegant, but how about Hitomi? She's elegant too, but in a cute sort of way."

"Yeah, yeah! Especially with that hairstyle of hers! It gives her flair, and then her round cheeks combine with it to make a cute sort of elegance."

Hitomi was practically steaming, her face definitely on fire as she recognized those two voices as Kaminari and Kirishima respectively.

_What are you saying, Kirishima, Kaminari?! In front of all the boys…!_

She covered her face as she heard Kirishima speak again.

"What do you think, Bakugou?"

Hitomi felt herself freeze.

"...Like hell I'm joining this dumbass discussion."

_Yes, Bakugou. End this immediately._

"Aw, come on!" she heard Kaminari say. "Why don't you loosen up for once? You're seriously no fun.

What, you mad she slapped you in the face?"

"You lookin' to die, shithead?!"

Hitomi removed her hands from her face, staring at her reflection in the water and recalling when she did that.

She definitely didn't regret it.

She was always so used to feeling intimidated by him, so knocking some sense into him for once helped in making her feel like he wasn't so scary anymore.

Hitomi heard Kaminari continue to pester the hothead before he finally said something.

"If I answer your question, will you finally shut up and leave me the fuck alone?"

"_Yes!"_ Kirishima and Kaminari both said.

_Oh god. He's gonna say I'm ugly, isn't he. Kirishima and Kaminari are my friends so of course they'd say I look nice, but Bakugou's not like that. He's just gonna say the cold hard truth._

"...She's pretty, I guess."

Hitomi felt like her brain stopped working.

She slumped against the rocks, trying to process something she probably wasn't supposed to hear.

_He probably doesn't mean that. He probably said that so Kaminari and Kirishima would leave him alone for sure._

Hitomi huffed, getting out of the water.

She needed to get out of there. If she sat in the bath overthinking Bakugou's words, trying to listen in to the other side to see if he'd say anything more, it'd drive her insane.

"Hitomi, you're leaving already?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Uh, yeah… I still need to tend to my hands, and I should probably message my family since I haven't done it since this morning…"

"Oh, alright," Uraraka said. "We'll probably be up in a bit."

"Okay… see you in a bit, then."

Hitomi waved to them as she entered the changing rooms, glancing at herself in the mirror nailed to the wall.

_I'm not really that pretty._

* * *

**A/N: Just so we're clear, Bakugou's looking at it from an objective standpoint, because in his eyes, the average person would probably think Hitomi is pretty. He's not biased towards her or anything. I'm not joking. :P**

**So this chapter had full, complete drawings! I want to make some fake screenshots that I can post to Hitomi's Instagram account, so I did some for this chapter since I'll be back in school by the time this goes up.**


	32. Yes, This is Hell

**A/N:**** I'M POSTING EARLY TODAY BECAUSE I WAS SUPER BORED DURING LUNCH**

**Enjoy the lightheartedness of these chapters, the danger and panic are coming.**

**Art - Add /211eol2c0m6x to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi let out a bloodcurdling scream as she expanded a force field, breaking through the mud dome encasing her.

As soon as she saw sunlight, dirt rose to cover her again.

Hitomi sighed, falling to her knees in the darkness.

"Pixie-Bob… couldn't you let me rest a minute…? We've been at this for hours…"

Pixie-Bob's muffled voice was heard from the other side of the dirt dome.

"_Villains don't give heroes time to rest, kitten!"_

Hitomi sighed again, flopping to lay down on the ground.

It was officially the first day of quirk training, and it felt like absolute hell.

The class was doing all kinds of different things to strengthen their quirks, pushing themselves to the limit.

In Hitomi's case, Pixie-Bob would continually create dirt domes around Hitomi with her Earthflow quirk, having the bluenette expand force fields to break through. The purpose was to help Hitomi create bigger force fields in quicker succession, as well as get her body used to larger amounts of heat; heat particles would build up each time Pixie-Bob created a new dome, making the inside very stuffy and hard to breathe in.

_This is only the first day…_

Taking in the rich smell of soil, Hitomi got up, clenching her fists as her pupils glowed in the darkness.

_This is all so I can be the best hero possible!_

She let out another yell, breaking the dome with a force field. Immediately after, soil encased her again, leaving her in the dark once more.

"_You're doing great, Kanetsukabe-chan! Keep going!"_

Hitomi sighed, leaning back against the dirt surface.

_Then again, I don't know how much more of this I can take…_

* * *

_7:30 pm…_

After a refreshing shower and a simple dinner of curry, the Class A girls were sitting in a circle in their room, Jirou shuffling a deck of cards Mina had brought.

"It's too bad Mina couldn't join us…" Tooru said, the girls all feeling sympathy for the one stuck in remedial lessons.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Yaoyorozu replied, running a brush through her hair. "It'll help strengthen her knowledge of being a hero, making her a better one in the future."

"Even so," Jirou said as she finished shuffling the cards, "I doubt she's having much fun right now. You guys know how to play Old Maid?"

"Oh, I love that game!" Uraraka exclaimed, prompting Jirou to deal out cards.

Hitomi picked up her cards, rearranging them as Tooru asked how everyone's training went.

"Nauseating," Uraraka replied, right as Jirou said "Painful."

Tooru made a sheepish noise, letting Tsuyu pick a card from her hand. "Okay, let's not talk about that then; sorry!"

Hitomi grabbed a card from Tsuyu as Tooru proposed a new topic.

"I know we talked about who could be the most attractive boy last night, but how about this: who do you think would be the best boyfriend?"

Hitomi held her cards out for Uraraka to pick one, noticing the brunette flail at the invisible girl's question.

_Probably thinking about a certain someone, isn't she…?_

Hitomi felt a mischievous smile creep onto her face, finding a matching pair in her hand and setting it down as she decided she'd mess with Uraraka a little. "What do you think, Uraraka? Who do you think would make the best boyfriend?"

The girl in question stuttered as her cheeks turned red. "Eh?! W-Why are you asking me?!"

Hitomi rearranged her cards, waiting for Tsuyu to take another card from Tooru. "Just wanted to know your opinion, that's all."

_Although I already know who you would say…_

"W-Well, what about you, Hitomi-chan? Who do you think would be the best?"

Tsuyu held out her cards for Hitomi, the bluenette taking one and placing it in her hand.

_Joker. Dang it._

The girl didn't look up from her cards, hardly batting an eye as she spoke. "Isn't it obvious who I'd say? Kirishima, duh. Not just because he's my friend, but because he's very sweet and respectful as well."

"Would you date him if he asked you out?!" Tooru asked, excited.

Hitomi looked surprised for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I wouldn't," she stated as Uraraka grabbed a card from her. "Even though he'd make a great partner, I can't see myself being with him that way. It'd feel weird to me."

"Man, Mina would love this conversation…" Jirou said as she grabbed a card from Yaoyorozu. "I hope the remedial lessons don't take too long…"

Hitomi began to space out on the conversation as they continued their game, thinking about the other boys in their class.

Midoriya would be a great boyfriend; it wasn't hard to see why Uraraka liked him so much.

Iida was a very respectable person, he'd probably a very respectful and kind boyfriend as well.

A specific boy in their class made her stop, causing her to suddenly blurt out, "Guys, what kind of boyfriend do you think Bakugou would be?!"

The girls all stared at Hitomi in disbelief.

"That's a tough question, Hitomi-chan," Tsuyu said.

Hitomi sweatdropped, realizing what she'd said. "Sorry, that was dumb. I don't know what came over me…"

"No, no, wait," Yaoyorozu said, putting down her cards. "This is a question that must be answered!"

"I'm pretty curious, myself," Jirou said as she placed her cards down as well.

Tooru got up from the floor, running to her bag and rummaging through it before returning with a pencil and notepad. "This is something that we need to list off!"

Everyone gathered around the invisible girl, their game of Old Maid completely forgotten.

Tooru wrote _Pros_ and _Cons_ at the top of the page, dividing it in half with a line down the middle.

"Well," Hitomi started as she peered through the invisible girl's shoulder, "I'd say his looks would go on the pros."

The girls made sounds of affirmation, Tooru writing it down.

"You'd have to be made of steel to deal with his personality, though," Jirou chimed in, vocalizing what everyone knew without needing to be said.

"Abrasive Personality" was added to the cons as Yaoyorozu proposed something for the pros. "I believe that if he compliments you or says something nice, you'd know undoubtedly that he means it."

Uraraka made a noise of agreement. "Yeah! Deku-kun's told me before that Bakugou's not one to lie just to please others. Just like in fighting, he won't hold back in telling you the truth either."

Hitomi spluttered, recalling what she'd heard Bakugou say about her the night before. "You… really think so…?"

Uraraka nodded, leading Tooru to write "Honest" under the pros.

Hitomi fiddled with a piece of her hair as the others continued, remembering Bakugou's words.

"_...She's pretty, I guess."_

He'd seemed reluctant to say it, but he did.

"..."

_Well, he's wrong._

* * *

In the boys' room, Bakugou sneezed for what had to be the fourth time that night. "Damn, just how dusty is it in here?!"

Kirishima laughed as he climbed into his futon. "Maybe someone's talking about you."

* * *

Hitomi sighed as Pixie-Bob encased her in dirt again, the second day of quirk training.

_I feel like I could die any minute…_

Hitomi cradled her arms, feeling the slow beginnings of her quirk taking its toll on her body.

Outside, she heard Pixie-Bob laugh. "_More importantly, everyone, tonight we'll have a test of courage with the classes pitted against each other!"_

Hitomi broke the pro hero's dome, yelling out, "What?!" only for her to be trapped inside again.

"_After training hard, you can play hard!"_

Hitomi felt a rush of excitement at that, never having done a test of courage before.

_I just need to get through this hell, and then I can have fun!_

* * *

**A/N: KIRITOMI REAL-**

**Just kidding haha. Here we get concrete confirmation on Hitomi's opinion of Kirishima: she thinks he'd be a great boyfriend, but she couldn't imagine seeing him in a romantic light.**

**If you guys aren't complete weebs like me and didn't get the short exchange between Bakugou and Kirishima, there's a superstition in East Asian cultures where you sneeze if someone is talking about you without you being aware of it.**

**I love how this chapter is named after the training when most of its content is girl talk lol. The girls are the perfect outlet to get to the topic of love and crushes.**

**And of course, there's the everlasting question the 1-A girls want the answer to: What kind of boyfriend would Bakugou be?**

**...So, this was kind of a dumb chapter, I don't know how it came into existence ._.**


	33. Your First Test Of Courage

**A/N: Time for Hitomi to experience a test of courage!**

**Art - Add /225r1cp3c6m6 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi watched in pity as Aizawa dragged Mina and the rest of the remedial group away.

_Poor Mina and the others…_

"Okay everyone," Pixie-Bob said once they'd left. "Class B will be the first to be the scarers. Class A will leave in pairs every three minutes. There are tags with your names written on them in the middle of the route, so bring those back with you.

Now, you'll draw lots to determine your partners! Come on up, everyone!"

…

Hitomi glanced at her slip of paper, being one of the last few to draw lots.

_8._

Looking back at her class, she checked for anyone who seemed to be alone, singling a specific person out.

Walking up to him, she placed a hand on his shoulder, holding up her paper and smiling at him. "Looks like we're a pair, Midoriya."

Midoriya beamed at her. "Kanetsukabe-san!"

Hitomi stuffed the paper into her pocket as Pixie-Bob called the first pair up.

"This is the first time I'm doing a test of courage, y'know. The closest we got to these were haunted houses in America. If this is anything like those, please bear with me, Midoriya. I might end up hiding behind you or gripping your shirt the whole time," Hitomi sweatdropped.

Midoriya shot her a warm smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I won't mind, Kanetsukabe-san! I'll protect you if you need me to."

Hitomi smiled back, realizing even more what Uraraka liked about him.

_He's like a puppy._

* * *

_12 minutes later…_

Midoriya glanced up at the sky, the sight leaving him confused for a moment. "What's that?"

Hitomi followed his gaze, seeing black smoke rising into the air. "Is… something burning..?"

"What's this?!"

The two turned to the sound of Pixie-Bob's voice, only to see her body surrounded in a pink glow as she was pulled through the air.

Hitomi's eyes widened in fear as she saw blood leak from the pro hero's head.

"Those pet cats are in the way."

Hitomi gripped Midoriya's shirt, the sight in front of her making her stomach churn.

Two villains she had never seen before were standing before them, one of them holding Pixie-Bob to the ground with a weapon of some sort.

"Pixie-Bob!" Midoriya cried out, about to dash forward before Hitomi tightened her grip and Tiger blocked him.

"This is bad…" Mandalay said.

"How are you this evening, UA High School?" said one of the villains, seemingly having a lizard type quirk and dressed in a way that reminded Hitomi of the hero killer Stain.

"We are the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains!"

…

Hitomi stared in horror as the villain that introduced himself as Spinner unsheathed his weapon, revealing an amalgamation of various swords and blades held together haphazardly with belts.

"You bastards," Tiger said as he stepped forward. "That woman lying there, Pixie-Bob, has started worrying about getting married recently. She was doing her best to find happiness as a woman, despite her age."

The man unsheathed the claws hidden in his gloves, pure rage on his face. "You can't damage her face and then just stand there laughing thoughtlessly about it!"

Spinner didn't back down, moving to take Tiger head on. "What's a hero doing trying to be happy like the average person?!"

"Go, everyone!" Mandalay told the remaining students. "Listen carefully. Do _not_ fight. Class Rep, you're in charge!"

"Understood!" Iida said, he and the others turning to return back to camp. "Let's go!"

Hitomi followed after them, halting when one didn't follow. "Midoriya!"

"Go on ahead!" he told her before turning to Mandalay. "Mandalay! I know where he is!"

He turned towards a direction of the forest and ran, leaving Hitomi and the others behind.

"Wait, Midoriya! Where are you going?!" Hitomi called after him.

"I'm going to get Kota! I'll meet you at the campsite, I promise!"

_Kota…? The child…?_

"Come on, Kanetsukabe-kun! Let's go!" Iida called for her, prompting the bluenette to follow him and the others back to the trail that led to the campsite.

* * *

Hitomi tried to ignore the loud crashes she heard as they followed the trail, not missing that it seemed to come from the direction Midoriya ran off in.

_Midoriya tends to be reckless in dire situations like this._

CRASH!

_What if there's a villain there?_

BOOM!

Hitomi began to slow down, falling behind as Iida and the others kept running.

_What if he's destroyed his body again?_

Hitomi stopped as another crash sounded, watching the others begin to disappear from view as they headed to the campsite.

_I'm sorry, Iida._

Following the direction of the noise, she ran into the forest, disappearing from sight.

* * *

Iida and the others saw the campsite come into view, seeing Aizawa restrain a villain with his capture weapon.

Without warning, Aizawa's scarf ripped through the villain's body, it suddenly falling apart as if it were mud.

"Aizawa-sensei!" Mineta yelled as he and the others approached the campsite. "What was that just now?!"

Their teacher ignored them, running past them into the forest as he said, "Get inside! I'll be right back!"

Iida, Ojiro, Koda, and Mineta watched him disappear into the darkness of the forest. They turned to head inside before Iida stopped and suddenly turned around, doing a mental headcount of those with him.

He felt the air leave his lungs as he realized someone was missing.

"Where's Kanetsukabe?!"

The others swiveled around to check behind them, looking for the bright blue hair they all knew so well.

"She's gone…" Ojiro said as his eyes widened, distraught. "Kanetsukabe-san's gone!"

* * *

**A/N: Hitomi's fueled by impulsivity and ran off on her own! What's going to happen?**


	34. Taken Away

**A/N: Last chapter, Hitomi ran off on her own! Is she going to find Midoriya like she hopes?**

**I kept flipping back and forth between if I wanted to make a GIF out of the picture I drew for this chapter, but I decided not to because it would just be a looping shot of a camera pan.**

**Art - Add /01zg5yyijrjs to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi felt the ground rumble as she navigated through the forest, following the direction the noise seemed to originate from.

_Please be okay, Midoriya!_

She only planned to find him and protect him if need be. If Midoriya was fine, she'd head back to the campsite so she wouldn't worry Iida and the others anymore.

Hitomi sped up as she finally saw a clearing up ahead.

Stepping out of the foliage, she glanced up at the large cliff in front of her.

_If Midoriya's up there, help him._

_If no one is there, go back to camp._

Climbing onto the rocks, she made small force fields beneath her feet, lifting herself up is she began to scale the cliff.

When she was near the top, she heard Mandalay's voice ring through her head.

"_Everyone in Class A and Class B! In the name of the pro hero, Eraser Head, you are granted permission to engage in combat!"_

Hitomi clenched her jaw, worried over her other classmates.

Mandalay repeated the message as Hitomi swung her leg onto the ledge, followed by the rest of her body.

_Hopefully Midoriya's not unconscious or anything…_

She stayed on the ground for a moment, letting herself breathe from her climb before she noticed her friend's phone on the ground.

She picked it up, seeing it was completely destroyed before setting it down and getting up.

The sight in front of her made her breath hitch.

A large man's unconscious body was in front of her, stuck in a gaping hole in the side of the cliff.

Hitomi stepped back, trying to be as silent as possible in fear of waking up the man.

_That had to be the villain Midoriya was probably fighting. Oh god, I hope Midoriya's okay-_

Because she wasn't paying attention, her foot slipped as she was nearing the edge of the cliff, causing her to fall to the ground below.

Hitomi screamed as she felt the wind rush through her ears, making a force field around herself as she approached the ground.

She felt the force field dissipate as it hit the earth, her body rolling into the bushes.

A bit disoriented, she steadied herself on a tree trunk before she realized the mistake she'd stupidly made.

"Oh, fuck."

_I don't know how to get back to camp._

...

Still a little dizzy, Hitomi left the clearing, trying to find any signs that could help lead her back to camp safely.

She cradled her head as she made her way through the trees and shrubbery, cursing to herself on her own stupidity.

Mandalay's voice rang through her head again, one more message left to tell everyone.

"_We have discovered one of the villains' targets. It's one of the students—'Kacchan'!"_

_Bakugou?!_

Hitomi fumbled on a tree root as Mandalay continued her message, nearly falling face first into the bushes.

_Bakugou's in trouble. What if he-_

She shook her head, trying to get rid of the thought before it went any further. She regretted that choice as soon as it made her head throb, making her try to steady herself on another tree trunk.

She'd already decided. She _promised_ herself she'd go back to Iida and the others. They were probably worried sick about what had happened to her, and she had to make sure she got back.

She _had_ to. Bakugou was strong. He could handle himself. Todoroki was with him anyway. He'd be fi-

Without warning, she felt a hand on her shoulder and her vision went white.

* * *

"Who was that woman just now?" Todoroki asked as he, Shouji, and Midoriya neared Tsuyu and Uraraka.

"A villain," Tsuyu replied. "A crazy one.

"Uraraka-san, you're injured!" Midoriya cried out from his place on Shouji's back.

"I'm fine," the brunette replied as she held her arm, eyeing the freckled boy's broken arms. "I can still walk. Anyway, _you're_ the one that-"

"This isn't the time to stand around and talk," Shouji interjected. "Let's go, quickly!"

"I'm just glad you're okay," Midoriya told Uraraka. "I know!" he suddenly said. "Come with us! Right now, we're protecting Kacchan as we head back to camp."

"You're protecting Bakugou?" Tsuyu asked, confused. She and Uraraka looked at each other for a moment before she said, "Where _is_ Bakugou?"

"What are you saying?" Midoriya said as he craned his neck to check behind him. "Kacchan is right behind-"

The path was empty behind them.

"The boy you're talking about," a voice sounded above them, "I took him with my magic."

The group looked up in the trees to find a villain flaunting a marble up above.

"This talent isn't someone who should be on the hero side. We'll take him to a stage where he can shine more."

"Give him back!" Midoriya yelled.

"'Give him back?'" the villain asked. "That's a strange thing to say. Bakugou doesn't belong to anyone. He's his own person, you egoist."

"Give him back!" Midoriya yelled again.

"Move!" Todoroki said, pushing Midoriya and Shouji to the side as he used his ice.

The villain simply jumped out of the way, dodging the ice as he landed on the trees on the other side of the path.

Shouji glanced behind him, noticing one other from their group had also gone missing.

"It's not just Bakugou!" he told the others. "Tokoyami's not here, either!"

Todoroki turned to the villain in anger. "To go out of your way to talk to us…

You're underestimating us."

"I was originally an entertainer, you know," the villain replied, continuing to flaunt the marble. "It's a bad habit of mine."

He turned the marble over in his hand, twisting his hand to reveal another. "Taking Tokoyami was an improvisation on my part."

Uraraka clenched her jaw as he continued.

"Moonfish… the man with 'Blade-Tooth'... he may not look it, but he's a cutthroat on death row who's appeal was dismissed. With a violent nature that trampled that cutthroat one-sidedly, I decided that he was good, too…"

He turned his hand over one more time, revealing a third marble. "...not to mention there was this girl with lovely blue hair I happened to pass by."

The students' eyes all widened in horror as they realized who he was talking about.

Out of all of Class A and Class B, there was only one girl with bright blue hair.

"HE TOOK HITOMI!" Uraraka shouted, distraught.

"You know," he started, "force field quirks are already pretty hard to come by."

He continued to fiddle with the three marbles in his hand, holding one between each of his fingers. "But one like her's, that doesn't just stay contained around the user alone…

Yes, Kanetsukabe's quirk is quite useful as well."

"You bastard!" Midoriya screamed. "Don't take them!"

* * *

Shouji and Todoroki lunged forward as the marbles flew out of Compress's mouth.

Shouji grabbed two of the marbles thanks to his Dupli-Arms quirk, leaving it to Todoroki to catch the last one. Before he could close his hands around it, another caught it, leaving Todoroki to simply look on in anguish.

"That's sad…" the villain said to Todoroki's face. "Shouto… Todoroki…"

The dual-haired boy tumbled to the ground as the villain had Compress confirm it, Compress snapping his fingers.

Tokoyami and Hitomi appeared out of Shouji's fingers, the two falling to the ground on top of him.

Unbelievably confused, Hitomi looked up to see Bakugou taken hostage by a villain disappearing into a warp gate.

_What's going on?!_

"Kacchan!" Midoriya ran past her, lunging for the gate.

"KACCHAN!"

Through her confusion, she heard Bakugou utter three words as he disappeared.

"Don't come, Deku."

Midoriya fell to the ground as the gate disappeared, looking back only to stare at the forest fire left behind. Hitomi ran to his side as he let out a painful scream.


	35. Words of Wisdom

**Art - Add ****/21bnb253toc2 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi was lucky enough to go home after the incident, being one of the 14 with no injuries to speak of.

Her family had all treated her like a fragile vase when she got home, afraid that if they'd pushed or prodded too much Hitomi would fall apart.

If she was being honest, she felt like she _could_ break down at any minute.

She'd stupidly gone off on her own when there was an unknown amount of villains in the area, ignoring direct orders from a pro hero and getting herself captured.

And then, when she was set free, all she could do was watch uselessly as Bakugou was taken away.

_So_ completely, utterly, _useless._

Hitomi collapsed onto her bed, choking back sobs as she smushed her face into her pillow.

_What kind of "hero" am I?_

_I couldn't save Nari back then._

_I couldn't save Bakugou during exams._

_I couldn't even save him when he was three feet away from me._

_I can never save _anyone.

By now Hitomi was crying, her tears soaking into her pillow.

_Face it, Hitomi._

_No matter how hard you try, you will _never _be a hero._

Her thoughts were interrupted as a soft knock was heard at her door.

"Go away," she immediately said.

Instead of hearing retreating footsteps, she heard her bedroom door creak open.

"Hitomi…?"

It was Nari.

Hitomi turned away from her best friend, not wanting to be seen in such a sorry state. She felt her mattress dip as Nari took a seat by her feet.

"I heard about what happened."

Hitomi only stayed silent.

"Hitomi, I really hope you're not blaming yourself for something again."

"...I should've never tried to be a hero."

Nari made a noise of surprise as Hitomi sat up.

"I ignored direct orders from someone who was trying to keep me safe. I stupidly ran off on my own trying to play the hero, and ended up getting myself captured."

The words were spilling out of her mouth, and she couldn't stop now.

"I was absolutely useless during that entire incident, and then, when Bakugou was right in front of me, I couldn't do anything to keep him from getting kidnapped! Tell me Nari, is that what a hero is supposed to be?! Someone who always uselessly stands by when they can change the situation, yet they do nothing-"

Hitomi was cut off as Nari engulfed her in a hug.

"...I'm so sorry you have to go through this, Hitomi."

Hitomi sat still for a moment before burying her face into Nari's shoulder, tears soaking into the blonde's shirt as she continued to cry. Nari just let her, patting her friend's back as she hiccuped and wailed, letting Hitomi let all her tears out. When Hitomi's breaths finally started to even, Nari spoke up again.

"If I'm being honest, Hitomi, I frankly don't know what to tell you in this situation. I can't exactly say things will be okay, because one of your classmates is still missing."

She let go of the hug, gripping Hitomi by the shoulders and looking her in the eye.

"I will tell you this, though.

You need to stop blaming yourself."

Hitomi tried to protest, but Nari shushed her, tightening her grip on the bluenette's shoulders.

"This mindset of yours isn't healthy, Hitomi. If you keep blaming yourself for things like these, you'll end up falling apart someday. I know it's sad, but there are people you just won't be able to save. It's okay to grieve for them, but in your case, you let it eat away at you."

Hitomi looked down at her lap as Nari continued.

"The way you handle this really isn't good for you. If you let things that have happened to those you couldn't save chip away at you, how do you think it will affect the people you _can_ save?"

Hitomi's eyes widened as she took in Nari's words.

"I'm sure you're not the only one who felt it was your fault when Bakugou was taken, Hitomi."

"You're right…" Hitomi mumbled. "If anyone's feeling the most frustrated of all, it's Midoriya…"

_I can't even begin to imagine how he feels about all this._

Nari finally let go of her shoulders, getting up from the bed. "See, you're not the only one who feels this way.

You need to let go of the mindset that there's _always_ something _you_ alone could have done, Hitomi. You're not alone. Sometimes there's nothing that can be done, and that's okay. It doesn't mean it's your fault. Don't let yourself get caught up in what you _could've_ done. Focus on what you _can_ do _now._"

Hitomi was silent as she stared at her hands in her lap.

Nari headed to the door, hoping she got through to her friend.

"I brought some boba for you from work; I need to head out now, but it's on the table for you downstairs for when you're feeling better."

Nari shot Hitomi one last glance before she left the room, the door quietly clicking shut.

_Please remember what I've said, Hitomi._

* * *

Class 1-A piled into Midoriya's hospital room, glad to see their classmate finally awake.

"Did everyone from Class A come?" Midoriya's voice came out weak, hoarse from a lack of use.

"No," Iida said. "Jirou-kun and Hagakure-kun are still unconscious from the villains' gas. And Yaoyorozu-kun also got hit hard on the head and is hospitalized here. Apparently she just regained consciousness yesterday. So everyone but those three came…"

"Sixteen of us…" Uraraka said.

"Because Bakugou's not here," Todoroki cut in.

Hitomi saw Midoriya's eyes begin to well up as the realization hit him his childhood friend had been taken away.

"All Might told me, 'I can't save the people I can't reach,'" Midoriya said as his voice cracked. "That's why he will always save those he can reach. I was in a place where I could reach… I had to save him. That's what my quirk is for… It's exactly like what Aizawa-sensei said to me."

Tears began to flow down the freckled boy's face. "My body… it wouldn't move. It was all I could do to save Kota. I couldn't save someone right in front of me…"

"Then let's save him this time," Kirishima suddenly said.

Hitomi turned to her friend in surprise.

"Actually, Todoroki and I were here yesterday, too," he continued. "On our way to your room, we saw All Might and a police officer talking to Yaoyorozu."

Kirishima described what he and Todoroki witnessed the day before, revealing that Yaoyorozu had placed a tracker on one of the villains.

"Does this mean you're going to have Yaoyorozu-kun make another receiver?" Iida questioned.

"What if it does?" Todoroki replied without hesitation.

Hitomi saw Iida's fists clench, before he suddenly shouted, "It's just as All Might said! This is something we should leave to the pros! This isn't the place for us to act, you idiots!"

"We _know_ that!" Kirishima yelled back. "But, I couldn't do anything! After I heard my friend was being targeted! I couldn't do anything! I _didn't_ do anything! If I don't do anything now, I won't be a hero _or_ a man anymore!"

Kaminari tried to quiet Kirishima down before Tsuyu gave her opinion on the matter. "Iida is correct."

"Iida," Kirishima muttered, "all of you, you're all correct. I know that. But Midoriya," he said as he held his hand out to the curly-haired boy, "your hand can still reach! We can still save him!"

* * *

Hitomi decided to leave the hospital during the late afternoon, the sight of her classmates hospitalized being too unbearable for her to stay any longer. As she watched the scenery pass by on the train, she remembered Kirishima's outburst that day.

She understood very well what he felt.

But now, he saw the chance to do something and he was taking it.

Nari's words rang in her mind.

"_Focus on what you _**can** _do _**now**."

Making a decision, Hitomi pulled out her phone, shooting Kirishima a text.

_I'm coming with you._

Hitomi saw the bubbles appear, showing that Kirishima was typing something in reply.

_Meet us in front of the hospital tonight._

* * *

**A/N: I hope Nari isn't coming off as like, uncaring or dismissive or whatever, 'cause that's not what I was going for if it did.**

**Nari's speech to Hitomi was kinda supposed to be a character-developing moment for Hitomi, where she would let go of the mindset that everything is her fault and begin to slowly move past her self-blaming tendencies.**

**Because believe me, that's gonna be important later ;)**


	36. Donki Oota Disguises

**A/N: ****I put a lot a lot of effort into the drawings for this chapter, because they're gifs this time around! I hope you like them ;)**

**Art - Add /****223js81bw264 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"Now that it's been decided," Todoroki said, turning away from the hospital entrance, "let's go."

He, Midoriya, Iida, and Yaoyorozu started walking away before Kirishima stopped them.

"Wait!"

They all turned back to look at the redhead, confused.

"Kirishima-kun?" Midoriya asked. "What's wrong?"

"We can't leave yet. There's one more coming with us. She should be here any minute now..."

"One more?"

As if on cue, they heard footsteps approaching them, turning to see another one of their classmates.

Who it was surprised them.

"Kanetsukabe-san…?" Yaoyorozu said, shocked.

"Sorry I'm late," Hitomi replied. "I had to switch train lines to get back here."

"Wait, you're coming with us?!" Midoriya protested.

Hitomi stopped in front of them, clenching her fist as she stared at the ground. "Of course I am… I know exactly how Kirishima feels. This isn't… this isn't the first time I've felt so useless before."

The others silently stared at her, Yaoyorozu knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"A long time ago," Hitomi continued, "I couldn't save someone that was right in front of me. I promised that person I would never let it happen to her or anyone else ever again, and I failed to keep that promise. It may be selfish of me to do this in order to absolve my own feelings, but unlike before…

I can actually do something this time."

* * *

"So this is Camino Ward?" Midoriya asked as they stared at the buildings in front of them.

"There are a lot of people," Todoroki observed.

"So, those guys are hiding somewhere in this city?" Kirishima said, looking around. "Okay, where are they, Yaoyorozu?!" He suddenly ran off, nearly separating from the group before Hitomi grabbed his shirt collar.

"Please wait!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed.

Kirishima didn't try to fight Hitomi's grip, turning back to look at Yaoyorozu.

"From here on out," Yaoyorozu declared once she'd had everyone's attention, "we must be very, very careful. The villains know what we look like, remember? We must also consider that we may be attacked at any moment."

"Got it!" Midoriya said, covering his face with his arms. "Gotta be covert!"

"But at this rate," Iida stated, placing a hand on his chin, "we won't be able to scout very easily."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Kirishima asked.

Yaoyorozu fidgeted, Hitomi noticing her cheeks tint a slight pink as she pointed to a store. "I have a suggestion."

_Dirt-Cheap Donki Oote._

* * *

Hitomi pulled back the fitting room curtain, revealing herself dressed in a frilly baby blue dress, bows sewn into the neckline along with a large ribbon wrapped around the waist, tied in a large bow at the front of the dress. Along with black tights, the outfit was completed a surgical mask to cover the bottom half of her face. Hitomi's long hair was tied up in a bun, two locks of hair left to frame her face.

"Is this _really_ necessary?" the blunette asked as she pulled the mask down her face. "It seems a little overboard…"

Kirishima gave her a thumbs up as they all left the store. "Looking great, Hitomi!"

Hitomi sighed, pulling the mask back over her face as her friend instructed Midoriya and Iida on how to act.

Yaoyorozu huffed, a satisfied smile on her face. "Kids would stand out in the shopping district at night, right?"

"Yaoyorozu," Todoroki said. "Wouldn't it have been free if you used Creation to make all this?"

_Ah._

_He's right._

Yaoyorozu made a noise of embarrassment, protesting against Todoroki's question as Hitomi and Kirishima stared at the two of them.

"The innocent rich girl just wanted to go inside Donki, huh?" the redhead said.

Hitomi sweatdropped as she agreed.

* * *

"There's no reaction even though we've gotten this close," Yaoyorozu muttered as the group loitered by a vending machine.

Yaoyorozu had taken their little rescue squad to the location the receiver was showing, and now the group was trying to look for a way they could get inside the seemingly abandoned warehouse.

"Hey, what are you doing, hostess?!" a new voice suddenly said.

Hitomi turned towards the source of the noise, finding two grown, and clearly drunk, men trying to reach out for Yaoyorozu.

"Come drink wit' us!"

Hitomi grabbed Yaoyorozu's arm, pulling the girl away from the men as Todoroki called for the group to move somewhere else.

…

"We can't do anything to stand out," Todoroki explained, the group now standing across the street from the building.

"Then what now?" Hitomi asked.

Midoriya looked back at the building, his eyes falling on a small alleyway. "Let's try going around to the back. No matter how little information we have on this place, it's all we got."

…

"We can't move for sure until we know for sure it's safe," Midoriya said as the group walked through the narrow crevice. "No one will see us here," he glanced up at the building, noticing a window, "and at that height, we should be able to see inside, too!"

"Will we be able to see anything in this darkness?" Todoroki asked.

Hitomi saw Yaoyorozu pull off her sunglasses as she said, "I can make a night vision scope-"

"Wait, Yaoyorozu!" Kirishima interrupted, pulling something out. "I actually brought one with me…"

"Kirishima, how long have you had that?!" Hitomi asked her friend, surprised.

The redhead stared at the scope, a troubled look on his face. "When I thought about what we'd have to do, I thought we'd need it…"

"But isn't that super expensive?" Midoriya questioned. "I was doing some research on them when I was thinking about my hero costume, and if I remember correctly, they cost around fifty thousand yen…"

"Who cares how much they cost?" Kirishima said. "Stop talking about it!"

"Okay then," Hitomi interrupted. "Kirishima, Midoriya, you two look through it. I'll make a platform for you to stand on.

Hitomi had to squeeze past the others to get to by the window, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Iida maneuvering around her so she could get to the front. After finally making her way through the cramped space, she made a force field platform by Midoriya and Kirishima's feet, allowing the two boys to step on. It slowly lifted into the air, giving them a chance to look through the window.

"Kirishima, what's inside?" Iida asked.

The boy in question leaned over the edge, looking through his night vision scope. "It's just dirty… I don't really see anything…" He suddenly gasped, taking a step back on Hitomi's force field.

"What's wrong?!" Todoroki said. "What do you see?"

Hitomi could see her friend trembling as he handed the scope to Midoriya. "In the back on the left…! Midoriya, look in the back on the left!"

Midoriya did as he asked, making a noise of disbelief as he looked inside.

"What?!" Hitomi exclaimed, concerned. "What is it?!"

She never got her answer, as Kirishima turned to look outside the alley and called for the group to do the same. Hitomi saw a glimpse of a car rising into the air before a loud crash sounded through the building, knocking the group off their feet.

They all had to gain their bearings for a moment as the dust slowly cleared, Hitomi making another platform for Kirishima and Yaoyorozu to stand on and find out what was happening.

"Mt. Lady and Gang Orca…" Kirishima muttered. "Even the No. 4 hero, Best Jeanist?"

"Tiger is there too!" Yaoyorozu added.

The students all breathed a sigh of relief as they listened into the heroes' conversation, Hitomi lowering her platform to let Kirishima and Yaoyoruzu back down on the ground.

"The heroes were already moving way before we were!" Iida exclaimed. "Now, we can fall back immediately. There's nothing left for us to do now."

Midoriya turned back to glance at the wall of the building, a curious look on his face. "Since Mt. Lady said 'with All Might,' does that mean Kacchan is there, too?"

"If All Might is there," Yaoyorozu responded, "then there's even more reason to rest easy. Now, hurry!"

…

Hitomi heard the sounds of Best Jeanist restraining someone with his quirk, fearing who it was the hero captured.

They had sounded awfully confident, and their words of "taking Ragdoll's quirk" and "their body depleting a lot of what they'd stocked up" gave her the feeling they needed to get out as soon as possible.

It had all happened in an instant.

A huge explosion sounded, decimating the building the heroes-in-training were standing by with the wall of the alleyway being the only thing keeping them hidden from view.

Hitomi could smell all the dust and smoke of the destruction as the voice spoke, her body unable to move a muscle.

She had just seen the image of her own death flash before her eyes.

* * *

**A/N: ****The first gif is actually taken from a small animation I made. I spent two hours looking for a voice clip from the voice actor I picked for Hitomi, putting a ludicrous amount of effort into a 6-second clip. You can find the whole thing on Hitomi's Instagram account.**


	37. Rescue

**A/N: 35 chapters.**

**At the time of writing this note, I am 35 goddamn chapters ahead.**

**What the heck.**

**Art - Add ****/213o6ozc1qlr to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi was finally able to flinch when she heard Bakugou's voice sound behind her, hearing him cough as she finally had the courage to tilt her head back.

_Bakugou's there!_

She heard splattering sounds before new voices appeared, making her realize more villains had probably been transported by that man who had given her the image of her own death.

_Just what…_

_...kind of villain is he?_

Hitomi jolted as Yaoyorozu suddenly grabbed hold of both her and Kirishima, Iida moving to hold Midoriya and Todoroki back.

"...You're here after all, aren't you…?"

Hitomi tensed at the sound of the villain's voice, her body frozen before she heard the voice of someone she could never be more relieved to hear.

"I'll have you return everything, All for One!"

It was All Might.

…

Hitomi tried to make herself think as she listened to the two battles taking place behind her, trying to will her brain to come up with _something._

_I really can't stand by this time!_

Hitomi clenched her teeth as her brain came up blank, infuriated that she was too filled with fear to think clearly.

_Idiot, idiot, idiot!_

_You need to do something, but..._

_...You're not allowed to fight in this!_

"Iida, everyone!" Midoriya suddenly exclaimed, breaking Hitomi's thought process.

"You can't, Midoriya!" Iida interjected.

"No, there's a way!" Midoriya pushed. "A way that won't involve fighting that will let us leave this place, but still save Kacchan!"

Iida released his grip on both Midoriya and Todoroki as the curly-haired boy continued.

"But this plan also depends on Kacchan… I don't think my plan will succeed if I do it."

He suddenly turned to Kirishima as he continued. "That's why, Kirishima, you're the key to increasing the success rate!"

…

"It's a gamble, but considering the situation, there isn't much risk to us." Iida said after Midoriya explained his plan. "More importantly, if we succeed, it'll change the tide of the fight for the better.

… Let's do it."

…

Hitomi wrapped her arms around Kirishima, Iida and Midoriya on both sides of the two to hold on to them. As they got into position, Hitomi's eyes glowed as she activated her quirk, creating a small force field in front of them. Using Midoriya's Full Cowling and Iida's Recipro Burst, the boys launched the four of them through the wall, it breaking upon impact with Hitomi's force field.

Behind them, Todoroki created an ice path beneath them as they flew forward, giving them a path into the air.

Hitomi's grip tightened on Kirishima as they sailed up the ice ramp, feeling the wind billow as they finally soared through the air.

Kirishima twisted around to hold his hand out, calling out to his friend.

"Come on!"

Hitomi heard a large explosion beneath them, tilting her head back to see Bakugou heading straight for them.

As the ash blonde grabbed hold of Kirishima's hand, he smirked.

"You stupid or something?"

* * *

Hitomi had made a ramp with her force field once they were a safe distance away, the four of them sliding down it like a slide as Bakugou used an explosion to slow down their speed. Once they'd landed, they all took a moment to catch their breath, still filled with adrenaline.

Once their rapid heartbeats had finally settled, Iida called for everyone to follow him, the group making their way back to the train station.

As they made their way there, Hitomi held on to Bakugou's shirt the whole time. She didn't know if it was because she believed his pride would make him run off on his own, or if she was scared the villains would somehow follow after them, or if it was simply because she felt obligated to protect him, but…

Bakugou didn't bother her about it.

* * *

Hitomi's hands moved to cover her mouth as she stared at the TV, taking in All Might's withered form.

She felt fear bubble in her chest at the realization this truly was no ordinary villain.

Next to her, she heard Midoriya and Bakugou screaming at All Might to win, glancing back at the TV to see the No. 1 Hero clenching his fist to attack.

_All Might has to win._

_He'll find a way somehow._

_He's not the No. 1 Hero in the entire world for no reason._

"YOU CAN DO IT, ALL MIGHT!"

…

Hitomi felt like she wanted to barf as she saw All for One's arm twist and change shape, revealing a disgusting amalgamation of different quirks mixed together to form an ultimate attack.

She unconsciously grabbed Bakugou's wrist, too terrified for All Might's sake to realize what she was doing.

_Win, All Might!_

The villain moved to charge at All Might with his mixture of quirks, the hero retaliating with a punch of his own.

_Win! Win!_

Hitomi's breath hitched as she saw All Might waver, feeling herself on the verge of tears as the Symbol of Peace was pushed back.

_You have to win, All Might!_

She held her breath as she saw All Might steady himself, still holding All for One back. He swung at the villain's face with his free arm, distracting him for only a moment before All for One moved to attack All Might again. The hero narrowly dodged it, moving in to attack as an explosion erupted behind him.

_Come on, All Might!_

Hitomi watched as All Might reeled his fist back one final time, punching All for One square in the face with so much power it created a gigantic tornado of wind. The force was strong enough to blow back entire buildings, the news camera on the TV shaking as the media helicopters tried to maneuver around in the chaos.

It seemed as if the entire world was silent.

Under her grip, Hitomi felt Bakugou tense as they watched the smoke finally clear, revealing All Might standing over the unconscious All for One. The entire crowd cheered as the No. 1 Hero raised his fist in the air, reverting back to the form Hitomi was used to.

"He did it…" she muttered, before suddenly grabbing Bakugou's arm and shaking him. "He did it! All Might did it!"

Tears finally fell from her watery eyes, but this time, they were tears of joy.

* * *

**A/N: ****Even though I'm a... _number_ of chapters ahead, that's only the ones that are written. Depending on how long it'll take me to work on Hitomi's dorm room (which is set to show in the chapter after next week's) I might take a break to prepare more drawings.**

**But we'll see how that turns out next week.**


	38. A New Chapter

**A/N: I'm posting this chapter a day early, since I'll be traveling tomorrow and I don't know if I'll have internet.**

**Drawing the screenshots for this chapter was a pain in my side because I had to draw backgrounds, and that fact alone was what caused me to take more than 3 weeks to finish it.**

**By the way, I also decided to include a screenshot of Hitomi's brothers just for funsies, even though they don't actually appear in any scenes this chapter. I included it since it's been 38 chapters and I never actually described their appearances, so there's that. :P**

**Art - Add /2edlpzldx7p to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi received a harsh scolding from both of her parents when she finally returned home the next day, but it wasn't as harsh as she would've expected.

Her parents were both concerned when they suddenly received a message yesterday afternoon that their daughter wouldn't be home right away, and even more so when she didn't return until the day after.

To her surprise, though, she wasn't grounded, especially after what everyone witnessed on the news.

Once her parents had finally finished their lecture and she properly apologized, the bluenette slumped to her room, crashing onto her bed to finally take a breather.

* * *

_A few days later…_

Hitomi fidgeted in her place between her parents as both All Might and her homeroom teacher proposed the UA dorms system to the three of them, asking for her parents' permission to let their daughter live at UA.

When the notice had arrived in the mail, Hitomi had told her parents she was okay with it, giving them her opinion on the matter. However, they never gave her theirs.

She suspected they spent a lot of time discussing it in private, meaning she wouldn't know their decision until they finally told the teachers.

Which meant right now.

Hitomi's mother crossed her arms as she stared down All Might and Aizawa, the room falling tense as they awaited her answer.

"I haven't been happy with all the attacks UA has experienced lately."

Hitomi felt herself deflate.

"... but after watching the sports festival, I've realized you've trained my daughter well enough to handle herself."

The glare on her mother's face disappeared, changing into one of a small smile. "It seems that even though UA's received a lot of attacks lately, you've been training your students well enough to take care of themselves during crises, right honey?" she said, turning to her husband.

Hitomi's father made a noise of affirmation as Hitomi looked between the two of them in surprise. She saw her mom wearing a somber smile, her eyebrows furrowed.

"We've always been a bit overprotective of Hitomi," her mom said, "Especially after what happened with her best friend a few years ago. When she told us she wanted to be a hero, we were surprised, to say the least, since she never really had any interest in it before. So when she was admitted to your school, and that USJ attack happened, we were seriously considering pulling her out of the hero course."

Hitomi's mouth opened slightly in surprise at her mother's words.

"But then we saw her on TV, during the sports festival," her mom continued, "and we realized how serious she was about becoming a hero, danger and all."

"We weren't so sure about it at first," her dad began, "but we realized that if Hitomi's going to be a hero, we're going to have to deal with this turmoil whether we like it or not. As long as you continue to train her well, you have our permission to let her live in the dorms."

Aizawa bent forward in a slight bow. "I promise."

* * *

Hitomi's eyes widened in awe as she took in what would be her new home.

A large building stood before the class, "1-A" painted on the front wall with a sign holding the word "Alliance" propped above the two main doors.

_Heights Alliance… UA's new dorm system!_

Aizawa stood in front of the building, calling for the class's attention to give a few announcements.

"This is important," Aizawa said. "Listen up.

Kirishima. Yaoyorozu. Todoroki, Midoriya, Iida. And Kanetsukabe.

These six went to go save Bakugou that night."

The entire class flinched, a few of those around Hitomi turning to look at her. She wanted to disappear under their gazes as Aizawa continued.

"Your reactions tell me that you were all at least aware of it. I'm going to set aside a number of issues and say this:

If it weren't for All Might's retirement, I would've expelled everyone except Bakugou, Jirou, and Hagakure.

Of course the six that went, but also the twelve who knew but didn't stop them betrayed our trust, no matter the reason. I would be grateful if you could follow the proper procedures and act properly in order to regain our trust.

That's all. We're going inside. Let's have some energy."

Hitomi was silent as she watched her teacher approach the entrance, her eyes falling to the ground in shame.

Bakugou clicking his tongue behind her caught her attention, leading her to turn around only to find the ash blonde dragging Kaminari behind a bush.

Electricity came out before Kaminari emerged, in his "wheeey" state after overusing his quirk. Jirou burst out laughing as Bakugou approached Kirishima, who Hitomi was standing next to as she pointed at Bakugou, confused.

"Eh? But how did he…?"

"Kirishima!" Bakugou held out five ten thousand yen bills, surprising the two of them.

"Wait, you're scaring me!" Kirishima yelled. "Did you shake someone down for money?!"

"No!" Bakugou denied, flailing the bills at the redhead. "I withdrew this money. You used up all your allowance right?"

"Yeah… but how did you hear about me buying the night-vision goggles-?" Bakugou shoved the money into Kirishima's chest before he stalked towards the building.

"If you keep having to scrimp and save, then it'll make _me_ feel bad," Bakugou said. "Show your dumb side, as usual."

"Sorry, Kirishima," Hitomi said, a sheepish smile on her face. "I might've let it slip while you weren't paying attention on our way to the police station that night…"

"Kanetsukabe!"

Hitomi and Kirishima looked to see Bakugou glancing over his shoulder at the bluenette while the rest of the class was laughing at Kaminari.

"Um, yes…?"

"Don't think you can always hold on to me whenever you want," the ash blonde muttered. "I let it go last time because we were busy watching All Might fight, but don't believe for a second I'm letting you do it again!"

He turned back to finally enter the dorms as Hitomi flailed.

"I'm sorry!" she apologized, her face turning red. "I didn't realize I was doing it until afterwards…"

Bakugou ignored her as he went inside.

Next to her, Kirishima snorted.

* * *

"The first floor has food, baths, and laundry," Aizawa said as Hitomi took in the common area.

_Wow… how spacey…!_

"Rooms start on the second floor," Aizawa continued as the class stepped out of the elevators. "There are four rooms per gender on each floor with five floors total. Everyone gets their own room." He opened the door to one of the rooms, revealing the inside.

"They're luxurious spaces equipped with their own AC, toilets, fridges, and closets."

Hitomi looked to the back of the room to see there was even a balcony outside, reminding her for the first time in a while how wealthy UA actually was.

_How fancy… even personal fridges!_

As the class finally piled out of the room, Aizawa held up a chart.

"These are your room assignments. The belongings you sent ahead have already been placed in your rooms, so unpack and get settled in today. We'll talk more about what'll happen from now on tomorrow. That's all. Dismissed!"

…

Hitomi, fully changed in some comfortable clothing rather than her school uniform, stared at the stack of boxes before her.

She cracked her knuckles before she finally opened a box up.

"Time to get to work!"

* * *

**A/N: ****Looking at the progress I've made with Hitomi's dorm room so far, along with the fact my family is going to travel this weekend, there may be no new chapter next week. I'll try my best to finish it in time, but if I can't get it up by then, it'll be up the week after, I promise!**


	39. Your Science-Obsessed Nerdy Brain

**A/N: _A month._**

**Hitomi's room took me a whole freaking _month_ of working on and off again.**

**Thank god it's finally done. TvT**

**Art - Add ****/0tth52eo8v to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi fidgeted as she stood in front of her new bedroom door, trying to stall from revealing her room to the class. They had decided to have a competition to see who had the best interior design out of 1-A, showcasing their bedrooms to decide the "Room King". Now, it was Hitomi's turn to present her room.

"Come on, Hitomi!" Mina chanted. "Show us!"

"I know!" Hitomi said, her hand finally reaching for the doorknob. "It's just embarrassing…"

She opened the door, letting everyone inside as she stared at the wall. Her classmates made sounds of awe as they looked around her room, Uraraka approaching the large constellation chart taped by her bed.

"Amazing! It has way more constellations than the one in my room!"

Kaminari smiled from his place by the door, seeing the large Pikachu plushie he'd gotten for Hitomi's birthday sitting on her bed. "Hey, you brought my gift here! I was afraid you wouldn't have liked it…"

"Oh! I, uh… I like to cuddle things in my sleep…" Hitomi stuttered, feeling her cheeks redden.

She heard Midoriya make a sound of excitement by her desk, prompting her to turn around and see the green-haired boy fawning over her desktop computer.

"Wow! I've never seen one like this before; it must be crazy powerful! Kanetsukabe-san, where'd you get this?!"

Hitomi scratched her head as she made a small laugh. "My brother actually built that for me for my birthday last year. He wanted me to have a good computer that could run all the games he made."

Kaminari turned to stare at the bookshelf placed by her dresser, skimming over the titles of all the books.

"You sure have a lot of science books, Hitomi."

Hitomi felt herself blush as Kirishima, Mina, and Sero all moved in to take a closer look.

"_The Elegant Universe_, _Physics of the Impossible_, _The Poisoner's Handbook_," Kirishima read. "Hitomi, these all sound really sophisticated!"

Hitomi twirled a piece of her hair as she looked away. "I've always kind of liked science since I was little. My favorite is astronomy, but chemistry and physics are tied for a close second…"

"Now that I think about it, your room really _does_ have a science-y theme…" Kirishima pointed out, referring to the galaxy inspired blanket spread out on her bed and the various science-related knickknacks and objects spread throughout her room. "It's nice, Hitomi!"

"Oh, thanks…" Hitomi trailed off. "Anyways! Let's go look at the other rooms, shall we?" she said, ushering everyone out of her room while still feeling embarrassed.

_If they keep talking about how "science-y" everything is, I'll feel even more like a nerd…_

* * *

_Three days later…_

Hitomi stretched her legs in Gym Gamma, fully changed in her hero costume for what the class would be continuing today.

Aizawa and the other first-year teachers had introduced everyone to what they called the "Training Dining Lab", a place where they could let loose and come up with ultimate moves to use during the provisional license exam.

Hitomi threw multiple force fields at the Ectoplasm clone working with her, sighing as he dodged each and every one of them.

"This isn't working… How am I supposed to come up with super moves with something as basic as a force field?!" She ran her hands through her hair in frustration, making sounds of annoyance before she heard a voice behind her.

"Having trouble, Young Kanetsukabe?"

Hitomi turned around, seeing the former No. 1 approaching her. "All Might?"

"What seems to be the problem?"

Hitomi sighed, crossing her arms as she kicked a stray pebble. "I can't come up with any moves. How did you do it?"

"Well, I learned different ways to apply my quirk by using different forms. There isn't just one way to punch, right?"

"I suppose you're right about that… but that's not gonna work for me!" She moved her arms in the way she'd seen All Might do on TV, in what she believed he'd called a "Carolina Smash". "Here, look All Might. I cross my arms, I throw a force field." She threw a punch, throwing another force field. "I punch, I just throw another force field. My quirk's too basic, All Might!"

"Well, I can already see the problem."

"...Huh?"

All Might placed a hand on Hitomi's shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. "For one thing, your mind's too clouded by frustration for you to think creatively."

Hitomi looked down at the ground, feeling her cheeks flush in embarrassment. "...Sorry, All Might. You're right. I've just been at this for three days without any results, so I guess I've gotten a little angry."

"That's okay, Young Kanetsukabe. I wouldn't blame you if you were distracted after everything that's happened. After all, you were there to rescue Young Bakugou too, weren't you?"

Hitomi nodded, prompting the retired hero to continue.

"Think about the training you've done so far, as well as what you've pulled off at both the sports festival and the final exams. You're thinking too small."

He patted her shoulder before moving on to another student, leaving Hitomi to process what she'd heard.

_Thinking too small… OH._

Hitomi facepalmed as she giggled to herself in stupidity. She must've been _really_ distracted to not realize the easy answer.

_I need to focus on bigger moves! That's what I was training to do. Duh!_

* * *

_The next day…_

Hitomi stretched her arms out in front of her, taking a deep breath before her eyes shot open, spreading her arms out abruptly in a wide fashion.

"_Supernova!"_

A bright light emerged from Hitomi, giving off a blinding flash as her force field expanded quickly. It grew very rapidly in size, giving the Ectoplasm clone no room to dodge as it slammed him into the stone wall. His body dissipated, making Hitomi cheer in excitement. "I've finally gotten the hang of this! Ectoplasm-sensei!" she called across the gym. "I need another one, please!"

_I've got two more ideas I thought up last night that I want to try out!_

Another one of Ectoplasm's clones finally arrived before her, making her squirm in excitement as she got herself ready.

"You're quite energetic today, Kanetsukabe," the teacher (clone) said.

"All Might's advice really helped in getting me out of my slump!"

"That's good to hear. Now, what else have you got?"

Hitomi took a deep breath, quelling her excitement as she knelt down and placed her hands on the ground.

_Remember what you did at the final exams…_

"_Eclipse!"_

A force field emerged from her hands, spreading out along the ground until it moved upwards, completely encasing the two in a very large dome.

Hitomi got up from the ground, admiring her work before looking at her teacher. "It's not exactly an offensive move, and focuses more on containment or protection… I'm working on making it bigger and placing it around another target."

"That's perfectly fine. All that matters is that it'll give you the upper hand."

Hitomi beamed, letting it drop as she said, "I've got one more idea, but it's not exactly an _ultimate_ move…"

"Well? Let's see it."

The bluenette held her arms out in front of herself, closing her eyes as she recalled her internship. Her palms glowed as force fields formed, growing in size to form half-circle shapes as she gripped them.

"I don't have a name for it yet, but it'll help me in close combat. At my internship, Crust taught me I could use my quirk on myself to help fight in close quarters, but I haven't exactly been using that advice lately."

"That's excellent, Kanetsukabe; you've made a lot of progress today. It wouldn't be premature for me to say your moves will be useful during the exam. Great job."

"Thank you!"

Hitomi clenched her fists, an eager smile on her face.

_I've got this._

* * *

**A/N: I literally googled "science books" for Hitomi to have in her room, so I've never read a single one of those don't at me :P**

**Even though Hitomi's existed for more than a year and a half, it took me _so long_ to come up with a hobby that was related to her quirk. The fact that it took me a year after her creation to come up with the idea that she loves science is lowkey embarrassing ( -.-)**

**If you want to see Hitomi's full room, you can see it on her Instagram account! (hitomi .mimii)**


	40. Discussions of Crushes and Earrings

**A/N: I remember I really liked writing this chapter, hehe...**

**There's slight foreshadowing for how I'm planning Bakutomi's development, so if you catch it, kudos to you :3**

**Art- Add /0d5fwmac00z to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Mina and the other girls had invited Hitomi to hang out with them down in the common area that night, and instead of staying cooped up in her room, she'd decided to join them.

She sat at the edge of the four-seater couch, listening to the others talk about the grueling day they'd just had.

"Hitomi-chan, how have your moves been going?" Tooru asked.

"Hm? Oh, pretty well, actually! I struggled for the first few days, but after some advice from All Might, I was able to come up with some stuff! I'm pretty proud of them."

"Your moves are named after spacey stuff, right?" Mina asked. "That's perfect for your hero theme!"

Hitomi blushed at the praise. "Thanks."

Tooru turned to Tsuyu next. "What about you, Tsuyu-chan?"

"I've perfected a move even more frog-like than before. I'm sure even you'll be surprised, Tooru-chan."

The invisible girl turned to the brunette at the end of their couch, who was sipping her drink and seemingly lost in thought. "What about you, Ochako-chan?"

Uraraka didn't answer, making Tsuyu poke her shoulder. "Ochako-chan?"

The brunette jolted, nearly dropping her drink as she looked at Tsuyu in surprise.

"You seem tired," the frog girl said.

"Oh, no, I'm not tired at all!" Uraraka stuttered, pumping her fists. "I'm just getting started! …At least, that's how it's supposed to be, but, how do I put it…?" Hitomi noticed her blush before she continued. "Recently, my heart's been feeling all stirred up…"

"IT'S LOVE!" Mina exclaimed.

Uraraka's face turned an even darker shade of red as she waved her hands around rapidly, reminding Hitomi of when the brunette had done the same thing during final exams.

"Wh-What?! Glove? Shove? Dove? I don't know what you're talking about!"

Hitomi smiled to herself as Mina pestered Uraraka for who it was she liked.

It was cute. She wondered what it'd be like to be in love.

_Well, minus the embarrassment…_

Hitomi tuned back in to the conversation when she heard Uraraka's voice from above, realizing her friend had made herself float. She made eye contact with Uraraka from her seat, Hitomi's face shifting into an innocent smile that Uraraka just _knew_ had more meaning behind it.

"Wh-Why are you looking at me like that, Hitomi-chan?!"

"Hm? What are you talking about, Uraraka? I just think it's cute, is all."

Hitomi had a glint in her eye, giving off a look of pure, utter _knowing_ that Uraraka realized at least one person was aware of who she liked. At least, _if_ she actually liked anyone. Obviously.

"Well, how about you, Hitomi-chan?!" Uraraka was desperate to make the conversation go _anywhere_ else, wanting to get everyone off her back about a crush she definitely did _not_ have.

Her question caught the bluenette off-guard, her innocent-but-knowing look on her face shifting into one of confusion.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Uh-" Uraraka wracked her brain for someone, _anyone_, who seemed to be spending a lot more time than usual with Hitomi, or anyone who had given her special attention lately. She finally came up with a face, recalling Hitomi's birthday. "Todoroki!" Uraraka exclaimed, pointing at her from her place in the air. "He gave you that really nice and expensive necklace for your birthday! It had to be at _least_ 87,000 yen! (~$800.)"

A look of indifference appeared on Hitomi's face, unimpressed with Uraraka's answer. "What? Okay, first of all, _please_ don't make me think about how much that necklace costs. Second of all, he said he didn't know what to get me, so he ended up just getting something pretty. Besides, I don't spend nearly as much time around him as you, Midoriya, and Iida do."

"Hey, that reminds me," Mina cut in, turning from Uraraka to Hitomi. Uraraka sighed as the attention finally shifted away from her, some movement by the window catching her eye.

"I know you said you wouldn't wear Todoroki's necklace unless it was for special events, but what about those earrings Bakugou got you?" Mina asked.

Hitomi practically took a spit take, even though she wasn't even drinking anything. "Huh?!"

"It's been several weeks already since he gave them to you and I've never seen you wear them!"

"Well, I- uh- I just haven't found the chance to wear them yet."

"But those earrings were so pretty, Hitomi-chan!" Tooru protested. She suddenly made a noise of disbelief, her clothes shifting as she leaned forward. "Don't tell me you threw them away?!"

"No! Why would I do that?! The receipt he left in the box said those things cost nearly 4,900 yen! (~$45.) It'd be a waste to throw them…!"

"Then, are you saving those for special events too?" Jirou asked. "Did you leave them at home?"

Hitomi sighed, scratching her head. "No...they're up in my room. And I'm not saving them for special events, either. It's just…" Hitomi felt her face burn as everyone, save for Uraraka, who was staring at a certain someone out the window, awaited her answer.

"...it'd be embarrassing if he saw me wearing them.

And I especially can't wear them now that we're all living together! If he saw me with them on and saw how much I loved those things, he'd definitely make fun of me for it! And I really don't need that right now with the license exam coming up…"

"Speaking of the exam," Yaoyorozu said as she rose from her seat, "we have an early start tomorrow, so we should turn in for the night."

"Awww, but I wanted to talk more…" Mina complained, but gave in to Yaoyorozu's suggestion to head to bed anyway.

"I'll get Uraraka down so she doesn't hurt herself," Hitomi said, waving to the others as they headed to the elevators.

"Uraraka!" Hitomi called to the floating brunette, finally breaking her trance from the window. "We're going to sleep now."

"Uh, right…!" Uraraka's eyes bugged out as she finally saw how high she'd floated, nearly touching the ceiling. "Um… a little help…?"

"Of course, silly." Hitomi made a small force field platform, floating it up until it was right underneath Uraraka so she could release her quirk. The brunette tried to quell her blush as Hitomi's force field brought her down to the ground, until Hitomi whispered something in her ear that made all the blood come rushing back to her cheeks.

"Sorry if I've been teasing you too much, but your crush on Midoriya's safe with me."

"Wha- WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, HITOMIIIII?!" Uraraka yelled, dashing up the stairs to her room like a madman. Hitomi was left alone in the common area, staring at the dust trail her friend had left behind.

_She's in so much denial…_

She sighed, making her way to the kitchen for a glass of water before she went to sleep. As she was pouring her glass, she heard someone coming down the stairs, paying no mind to them as she took a sip of her water.

"If you really like those earrings so much, then just wear them, damn."

Hitomi took a real spit take this time, choking on her water and coughing as she recognized the voice.

"Bakugou?!" she yelled when she finally got rid of the water stuck in her throat. "I thought you went to sleep already!"

"I _did_, but you all are so damn loud it woke me up and now I'm thirsty."

"You heard us? Oh, crap, I'm so sorry-" She stopped, remembering what he'd said when he first entered the kitchen. "Wait- YOU HEARD WHAT I SAID ABOUT THE EARRINGS?!"

"You really shouldn't yell at night when people are asleep, dumbass," Bakugou said, grabbing his own cup. "Sounds are a lot easier to hear when it's quiet."

"So… you heard what I said…?"

"Yeah I did. You all are fucking noisy."

Hitomi watched him as water filled his glass, looking for any signs he was irked or annoyed. She'd been waiting for the right chance to wear the earrings, because no way in _hell_ would she wear them to school, nor anywhere classmates could potentially see her.

The moment she saw the earrings they instantly became her favorite pair, but it wasn't like anyone needed to know that.

"Look, I'm sorry if you're mad about me not wearing them. I really do actually like the earrings..."

_Aw, man. This is embarrassing…_

"If you want to wear them, just wear them. As if I'd waste my time making fun of you for it."

He took a swig of his water, walking to the sink to wash his cup after finishing his drink. "I spent way too long looking for something I actually thought you'd wear, so you better fucking wear it if you actually like it. Don't let it go to waste like that damn Todoroki's necklace…"

Hitomi fiddled with her cup as Bakugou dropped his glass onto the drying rack, her silver eyes staring at the water that was still filling her cup.

"I'll… wear them the next time I go out."

Bakugou was silent as he made his way to the elevator, hardly sparing her a glance as it took him up to his floor.

* * *

**A/N: I've got some announcements to make.**

**First of all, IPP's upload schedule may change. By which I mean, I may start uploading twice a week! I'm currently writing what may be the ending chapters, so IPP might finally have a set end. If I do start doing this twice a week, it won't always be consistent, though. I'll only do biweekly uploads whenever I can stay ahead in chapter art.**

**Second of all, I'll be writing side stories for Hitomi! It's going to be separate from this fic so it doesn't mess with the flow or pacing, but there's some scenarios and holiday specials I would like to write. If I'm able to, I might be able to start the side stories beginning with Halloween next week!**

**That's all!**


	41. Movie Night!

**A/N: Busted my butt doing the drawing for this chapter.**

**I'm telling you guys now, at the time of writing this note, I have written up to chapter 91. The plot after the provisional license exam is _heavily_ romance-focused, and takes up about 20 or so chapters. If you really like Bakutomi, uhh...**

**...I suppose you'll really enjoy the original story content that's planned after the license exam.**

**Art - Add ****/026pctd8p6dc to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

All the training for the license exam had exhausted everyone, and as a breather, Mina had suggested for the Bakusquad to watch a movie together as a way to unwind. She'd recently gotten a movie for super cheap, and thus, she, Sero, Kaminari, and Kirishima were in the common room area, waiting for Hitomi to come back with snacks. Even Bakugou was there, although it took a lot of pestering from both Kirishima and Kaminari until he finally gave in.

Mina, Sero, Kaminari, and Kirishima were all especially chatty, having gone through a whole pack of soda Kaminari had shared an hour or two ago that they were practically buzzing with energy.

"So? What are we watching?" Hitomi asked as she entered the common area, her arms full of junk food. She dropped them onto the coffee table as she took the last open seat next to Bakugou, grabbing a pillow.

Mina giggled a bit before she showed the group her movie, which depicted a couple in a speeding car. "Ta-da! It's a spy movie, with a lot of action and a dash of romance!"

"Is this because you didn't get to talk about love a few days ago?" Hitomi quipped as the boys save for Bakugou made a beeline for the snacks.

Mina turned away from her, taking the disc out of the case to put into the DVD player. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Uh huh…"

"Romance…?" Bakugou muttered next to Hitomi. "Forget it. I'm gonna go to bed."

"Hey, wait!" Mina protested as the disc loaded. "I specifically got one that had a lot of action so you guys would watch! Come oooonnn…!"

"You're already here, Bakugou…" Hitomi pointed out. "Why leave? Too embarrassed to see people in love and kissing and stuff?" she teased.

He glared at her for a second before he settled back into his seat, crossing his arms. "Like hell I am!"

Hitomi leaned back, satisfied with herself. A can of soda was thrust in her direction, making her stare at it for a moment. "Want some?" Sero asked. "We saved one for you in case you wanted any!"

The bluenette shook her head, her hair waving around. "Oh, no thank you. It's almost 9:30, I'm not having any soda this late. I won't have any of the snacks either, so you guys can just go nuts."

"Awesome!" Kaminari exclaimed, grabbing more snacks as the movie finally started playing. Mina took her place on the couch next to Sero, lying down on her stomach as the company logos appeared while Kaminari and Kirishima ate their snacks from their place on the floor.

Within half an hour, they had conked out, crashing from the sugar high caused by the sodas.

"Well, that sure was quick…" Hitomi said as she observed their sleeping forms. They were sleeping quite soundly, despite the loud sound effects coming from the movie. "Wanna turn it off?" she asked the blonde next to her.

"Fuck no. I wanna see if they die or not."

"Invested already?" the girl asked as she rose a brow. "Thought you didn't want to see romance."

"...Shut up. I just wanna see if the villains will get them or not."

"Suuure…" Hitomi smiled, hugging her pillow.

* * *

"Don't go there!" Hitomi whisper-shouted as she watched the car turn into an alley only to find it was a dead end.

Watching the movie with Bakugou was surprisingly entertaining, as they both ended up yelling at the TV for the dumb actions the characters took. Seeing Bakugou get increasingly annoyed with how stupid the characters were was hilarious, as he'd facepalm or groan every time the protagonists would get cornered by the villains.

They'd been watching for at least an hour, and despite the sound effects and Bakugou and Hitomi's yelling, the others were still out cold.

"Fucking hell…" Bakugou muttered as he cradled his face in his hand. "They're so fucking stupid…"

They watched as the car tried to back out of the alleyway, only for other cars to corner it there.

"Don't you dare get out of the car," Hitomi whispered. She groaned as the protagonists stepped out of their car, their hands up in surrender as the villains surrounded them with weapons. "They're so dead…"

Out of nowhere, the villains dropped unconscious one by one as a new character dropped onto the roof of the protagonists' car, revealing themselves to be one of the other antagonists that the main characters had evaded in the first half of the movie.

"I'm here to help you," they said.

"Bullshit!" Bakugou yelled. "That's out of nowhere! And he's supposed to be fucking dead!"

"Oh my god, this movie is so bad…" Hitomi laughed. "How did Mina even get her hands on this movie…?"

"She was ripped off, that's what."

"Wanna turn it off yet?"

"Don't even think about it. I've wasted an hour and a half watching this garbage, and I'm fucking finishing it. If they're somehow still alive by the end of this, I'm throwing the movie in the trash compactor."

"That stubborn, huh...?"

* * *

_30 minutes later…_

Hitomi was clutching her pillow as she watched the car chase, whispering to herself for the characters' victory. She tensed when she felt a weight on her shoulder, turning her head to see Bakugou had fallen asleep.

_On_ her shoulder.

It made sense, as Bakugou liked to sleep early and it was probably way past his bedtime now.

But now she couldn't move. If he woke up, he'd get angry for being disturbed, and she did not want to deal with a grumpy Bakugou at 11:30 at night.

_I'll just live with it._

Hitomi was about to turn back to watch the movie before she stared at Bakugou's face a little longer, noticing the serene look on his face.

The soft light of the movie seemed to hit his face in all the right angles, and paired with his peaceful expression, he almost looked kind of… cute.

_What the fuck._

Hitomi swiftly turned her head to face the TV screen, feeling her face burn along with an odd fluttering in her chest.

_I did not just think that about Bakugou._

She side-eyed him for a second before looking away again, feeling her face heat up even more.

_This is not a repeat of the ferris wheel._

_It's __**Bakugou**__, with his stupid face._

_His stupid, stupid, cute face-_

_..._

_...Fuck off, Hitomi._

Hitomi tried to ignore the odd feeling in her chest as she directed her attention to the movie, clutching her pillow tighter. The weight on her shoulder did not help in her quest for ignorance.

Within half an hour, it looked like Bakugou would be throwing Mina's movie in the trash compactor tomorrow morning.

* * *

**A/N: I really hope Bakugou was in character for this chapter.**


	42. New Arrivals

**A/N: The side stories have officially been posted! I uploaded the first chapter yesterday, which was a special for Halloween :) Just check my account to find it!**

**I'm really excited for these next few chapters, because we'll finally see my third OC! If you already follow Hitomi's account on Instagram, you probably already know who I'm talking about :)**

**She makes a small cameo this chapter, but she'll be an important part of the exam later.**

** Art - Add ****/2n5frwxy25y to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

It had now been a week since then, and before Hitomi knew it, their bus had arrived at the provisional license testing facility.

Hitomi stretched her arms as she stepped off the bus, taking in the large building before them.

_Takoba Arena, they said it was called…_

As Aizawa gave the class what he considered a motivational speech, the bluenette felt her nerves begin to flare up, the feeling in the pit of her stomach reminding her of the sports festival. Midoriya must've noticed her stress, because he looked at her with concern once Aizawa finished talking.

"Kanetsukabe-san? Are you okay?"

Hitomi gripped the straps of her backpack, clenching her jaw. "Just nervous, as usual."

"Oh! ...Well, I don't know if you've heard of it already, but there's this superstition where if you write 'person' on your palm three times and eat it, it should calm you down if you're feeling anxious. Maybe that can help?"

"Hm, I think I saw Mineta doing that back at the sports festival…"

_Let's see..._

She held up her palm, tracing the kanji for "person" with her finger three times before placing her hand on her mouth, pretending to eat the imaginary word. She felt her shoulders start to relax, her anxiety settling a bit.

_Huh. That kinda worked!_

Her ease was short-lived, as a boy wearing a particular hat jumped in between Kirishima and Kaminari, interrupting their chant of "Plus Ultra!" to join in. Hitomi jumped at his shout, hearing another voice close by.

"You shouldn't just barge in on other people's huddles, Inasa."

"Oh no!" The boy moved his hands to his side abruptly, Hitomi realizing he was about to bow. "I am very…" He bent down way farther than she expected, smashing his head face first into the pavement. "...extremely sorry!"

Hitomi yelped, his over-the-top nature kind of freaking her out.

"Wait, that uniform…" the bluenette heard Jirou say. Hitomi turned to look at it, not noticing anything particularly special about it.

_What about it?_

"It's from that famous school in western Japan…" Kirishima said.

"UA in the east, Shiketsu in the west…" Bakugou muttered.

"Shi...ketsu…?" Hitomi questioned.

Midoriya turned to her in surprise. "Kanetsukabe-san, you haven't heard about them?!"

Hitomi shook her head, continuing to stare at the Shiketsu students with curiosity. "It might've come up once or twice when I was researching schools, but I mostly had my heart set on UA since it's close by…"

"Kanetsukabe-san, out of the many hero courses in Japan…

It's an elite school that rivals UA."

Hitomi's eyes widened as the Shiketsu student finally rose from his bowing position, an enthusiastic smile on his face. "I just wanted to try saying it once! Plus Ultra!" he explained. "I _love_ UA High School! I'm extremely honored to compete against UA students! I'm looking forward to it!" Blood began to leak out of his forehead, dripping down his face as Hitomi stared at him with concern.

_Well, he's certainly passionate, that's for sure…_ she thought as the other Shiketsu students called for Inasa to follow them. As they passed by, a girl with short auburn hair flashed Hitomi a glare so harsh it practically sent chills down the blunette's spine.

"Inasa Yoarashi…" Aizawa mumbled, nearly under his breath.

"Aizawa-sensei, you know him?" Tooru asked.

"He's… strong. Last year, the same year as you guys, Yoarashi got the top scores of those admitted through recommendations, but for some reason, he turned down his acceptance."

_Top scores?!_

"Wait, then he's a first-year?!" Midoriya spluttered.

"He's not the only one," Aizawa continued. "Yoshiho Koatsu is also with them. You've probably heard of her from… her family's scandal.

The class collectively gasped, leaving Hitomi confused.

"Yoshiho Koatsu is a Shiketsu student…?" Midoriya muttered.

The class talked amongst themselves about both Inasa and Yoshiho, and before Hitomi could ask about it, she heard the sound of footsteps nearing.

"Oh! Is that you, Eraser? It's you, isn't it?!" a new voice exclaimed.

Hitomi saw her homeroom teacher flinch before she turned to the sound of the voice, seeing a woman with teal-colored hair approaching. The way she greeted him was quite enthusiastic, making Hitomi wonder how they knew each other.

"Let's get married," the lively woman said, pointing back and forth between the two of them.

Mina made a sound of joy, getting her fill of romance that she'd missed out on the week before as the two heroes conversed. Hitomi found out the lady was Ms. Joke from Midoriya's excited rambling.

The bluenette tuned back in to hear, "Joke, if you're here, that means…"

"That's right!" she laughed. Joke looked over her shoulder, gesturing towards a group of students in gray polos. "Come here, everyone! It's UA."

"Oh, it's the real thing!" a boy with curly brown hair exclaimed as they approached.

"Wow, that's amazing!" a girl with pigtails styled like fins said as she patted the boy's shoulder. "I've seen them all on TV!"

"Ketsubutsu Academy, Class 2. They're my class. Please be kind," Joke introduced.

The boy with curly brown hair suddenly grabbed Midoriya's hands, introducing himself. "I'm Shindou! UA this year's had trouble after trouble, so it must've been tough!"

He went on to grab Kaminari and Jirou's hands next, continuing his tirade. "But even so, you all are still aiming to be heroes like this, huh? That's wonderful! A heart of fortitude is what I believe all heroes should have from now on!" he exclaimed as he finally let go of Jirou's hands, shooting a wink at the class.

Hitomi's eyebrow twitched, finding the way Shindou acted to seem awfully fake and disingenuous. Maybe it was just in her head.

His gaze suddenly fell on her before his face broke into a bright smile, stepping towards her and grasping her hands as well. "And you're… Hitomi Kanetsukabe, right?"

"Huh?!" Hitomi stuttered, feeling her face heat up at the sudden close contact. "Uh, yeah, I'm Kanetsukabe…"

He leaned closer as his smile widened, making Hitomi try to lean backward to avoid the close proximity their faces were approaching.

"You were my favorite at the sports festival! The way you used your quirk, you were practically sparkling in the sunlight!"

"Eh?! I- Um, thank you…?" the bluenette trailed off, the blood rushing to even her ears.

"Don't fall for his lies, Kanetsukabe," Bakugou cut in.

The two turned to look at the blonde as Shindou finally let go of Hitomi's hands, the brunette approaching Bakugou. "Ah, Bakugou-kun! The one who experienced being the center of the Camino incident, yeah?"

"Hah?" Bakugou muttered.

"You have an especially strong heart," Shindou continued, holding his hand out for a handshake. "Today, I'll do my best while learning from you!"

Bakugou suddenly slapped his hand away, his glare hardening. "Stop pretending. What you're saying doesn't match the look on your face!"

Hitomi swore she saw Shindou's face fall into a malicious smile for a split second before it disappeared, returning to his pretty-boy smile as Kirishima apologized for Bakugou's behavior.

"Oi!" Aizawa yelled, getting the class's attention. "Change into your costumes and go to the orientation. Don't waste time."

"_Yes, sir!"_ the class responded, following him inside.

* * *

**A/N: DID Y'ALL HEAR SHINDOU AND TATAMI ARE DATING**

**FROM THE ULTRA ANALYSIS BOOK**


	43. And the Test Begins

**A/N:** **After lots and lots of deliberation and contemplation, I've finally decided to change Hitomi's English voice actor. Kira Buckland, while she shared the deepness of her voice that Saori Hayami has, her overall tone just wasn't what I was really going for. The longer I thought about it, the more I thought that her voice sounded too confident and didn't have that certain innocence or gracefulness that Saori Hayami is able to convey. I still love her as a voice actor of course, but she just wasn't the voice I was really going for for Hitomi.**

**So after literal _hours_ of research, Hitomi's new English voice actor would be Xanthe Huynh _(Sachi from Sword Art_ Online)! :D Instead of looking for someone who could sound like Saori, I decided to have Hitomi's English voice focus on that innocence and overall nervousness, regardless of how deep it is. Xanthe is the one I went with ^^**

**Art - Add ****/01knugvdlzm9 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"I'm Mera from the Heroes Public Safety Commission," a tired man with blonde hair muttered from his place on the podium.

Hitomi craned her neck to see the stage at the front of the orientation area as the sleep-deprived man struggled through his speech, readjusting the goggles on her forehead.

"... the first thing you'll be tested on is speed," he grunted as the large screen behind him flashed to the words, "Number to Pass 1st Test: 100 People".

Everyone in the auditorium audibly gasped, as there were over 1,500 examinees testing for their license.

"Didn't they say half would pass…?" Yaoyorozu muttered next to Hitomi.

"...Shit. 100's not a lot with this many people," Hitomi said, feeling her stomach turn.

"So anyway, here are the requirements," Mera said as he pulled out a ball and what looked like a small target. "The examinee will put three of these targets on their body. They can go anywhere as long as it's an exposed area. You can't put them on the soles of your feet or in your armpits."

An animation showed up on the screen behind him, giving a visual of his explanation before it displayed an image of six of the balls he was holding. "You'll also have six of these balls. The targets are made to only light up if they're hit by these balls, and if all three of your targets light up, then you're out. The person who lights up your third target will have it count as their defeat. You get through this round by defeating two people."

Some men at the stage holding boxes dispersed, likely to hand out the balls and targets, before Mera continued with the last of his directions. "We'll open once everything has been distributed, and then we'll start one minute after we've gotten to everyone."

_Open…?_

Hitomi felt the ground rumble before she heard a loud creaking noise from above, prompting her to look up at the ceiling. Sunlight streamed through the roof as it opened, the walls of the orientation area collapsing outward to settle on the ground.

It turned out they were in the middle of a large stadium, different types of terrain spread throughout that reminded Hitomi of USJ.

"I believe you all have terrain that you like and dislike. Use your quirks well and do your best."

Hitomi gaped at all the different areas of the stadium, reminded for the umpteenth time the wealth of heroics.

_I really need to try and stop getting surprised all the time._

* * *

Hitomi ran with Midoriya and the rest of the class through the arena, waiting for the test to begin. Bakugou and Todoroki had decided to go off on their own, the former being unreasonably stubborn as usual while the latter left to utilize his quirk to the fullest.

"...the other schools should also have figured out what I said earlier about the way to win." Hitomi could barely hear what Midoriya was saying from her place in the back, but got the gist of what he was talking about.

It was likely going to be a battle between schools, and only one school had been exposed on their quirks, fighting styles, and weaknesses so far.

A horn blared, a voice over the loudspeaker announcing the first test was now starting.

Dozens of students suddenly appeared before Class 1-A, surrounding them on all sides with Hitomi noticing Shindou at the front and center of it all.

Foam balls from every direction flew towards the class, everyone using their quirks to avoid or repel them. Hitomi haphazardly set up a large force field to cover the back, blocking the balls that flew their way.

_I can't cover everyone yet._

As the barrage of foam balls finally stopped, Shindou smirked. "Looks like this isn't the same Class A from the sports festival." His gaze shifted to Hitomi, who cautiously let down her barrier. "Their defenses seem strong, and with her around, that makes it especially harder. Get away!" he told his classmates as he placed his hands on the ground.

"I'm gonna scatter them."

Hitomi saw Uraraka recoil, turning her attention to Shindou.

"Maximum Force! _Tremoring Earth!_"

The ground rumbled for a moment before suddenly breaking apart, pieces of the earth getting shot upwards while other pieces sank. Hitomi stumbled as the ground beneath her shifted, losing her footing and falling down into one of the dips.

She screamed as she felt the air blow through her hair, making a force field around herself as she hit the ground.

The bluenette took a moment to gain her bearings once the tremoring had finally stopped, shaking the rubble out of her hair as she glanced around her.

_Oh, no._

The class had been separated.

* * *

A girl with dark auburn hair soared through the air, flying over Inasa as the announcement came that he'd singlehandedly taken out 120 examinees. The girl scoffed, using her quirk to slow down her fall as she neared the rooftop he was standing on.

"Thanks for giving me less options, Yoarashi."

"Go find your own people to fight, Koatsu." Inasa shot her a glare as he turned to leave, his cape flowing behind him.

Yoshiho huffed as he left, using her quirk to launch herself off the rooftop towards the river area.

_I need to hurry up._

* * *

Hitomi scrambled to run away from a small group of students chasing her, using a force field behind her to block the balls they threw at her before launching it towards them, making them scatter as she ran into the forest area.

_Fuck, fuck fuck fuck. I'm even farther away from the class now._

She ran through the forest, keeping an eye and ear out for anyone who could be hiding and ambush her. The bluenette continued to run through the trees, hearing the faint sound of rushing water up ahead.

She broke out of the forest, seeing a flowing waterfall that fed into a large river. Hitomi bent over as she stopped by the river bank, panting as she tried to catch her breath from that long run.

_Lucky for me, it seems that no one's here._

_Although, it _is _a little odd this area's empty…_

Hitomi's thoughts were interrupted by a faint beeping noise, the ground rumbling for a moment before a girl with a Shiketsu hat landed a ways away from her.

"Just one more…" she heard the girl say. The other student turned around, noticing Hitomi as her face settled into a hard glare.

"Oh.

It's _you._"


	44. The Meeting of the Shiketsu Student

**A/N: Since Yoshiho has finally been formally introduced, here are her voices:**

**JP:** Yoko Hikasa (_Emi Yusa from The Devil is A Part-Timer_)  
**EN:** Erica Lindbeck (_Anaru from AnoHana_)

**Art - Add /220500h93bc8 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"Oh. It's _you_."

_She's from Shiketsu…!_

Mera's voice crackled over the loudspeaker. "Things're now moving right along! At present we have 52… no, _53_ passing examinees. One after another…"

Hitomi's face morphed into one of worry. "Less than half slots left to pass…"

She glanced at the Shiketsu girl, who was the only other person in the area.

_This is my only option right now._

She grabbed a ball from her pack, holding it in her hand as the Shiketsu girl adjusted her hat.

"...What's with that expression on your face?"

Hitomi only looked at her in confusion before she felt herself suddenly get pushed back by an invisible force, crashing through the waterfall and down into the river. Luckily, she didn't lose her ball, her grip tightening on it as her head poked out of the surface, gasping for air.

The Shiketsu girl jumped from her place on the ground towards Hitomi, the bluenette abruptly moving out of the way and climbing out of the water, her hero costume sopping wet.

_I don't even know what her quirk is…! And no doubt, she'd definitely know from mine from the sports festival._

Hitomi began to panic, making force fields around herself in an attempt to dry off from the heat.

The Shiketsu girl didn't even touch the water, her body just above it as if she were levitating. The water was rippling beneath her feet, concaving into itself as if it was being pushed down by air.

"You know, I can see it on your face. And it really pisses me off."

"What are you even talking about?!"

"Hitomi Kanetsukabe… semi-finalist of the sports festival. But…

It looked like you didn't even want to be there."

"Huh?"

"That worried expression on your face; I saw it there, too. Why do you always look like that?"

"I don't see how this matters…"

The Shiketsu girl scoffed, her glare hardening. "What, are you stupid too?!"

The girl aimed her fist at Hitomi, the gauntlets around her wrist lighting up before a pulse seemed to emanate from her hand, her short auburn hair fluttering behind her.

Hitomi jumped out of the way, diving behind a rock with the weight of her damp hero costume slowing her down.

"You seriously rub me the wrong way."

Hitomi glanced over the rock, seeing the Shiketsu girl launch herself away from the river towards her. Hitomi dashed out of the way, the rock breaking apart from the girl's quirk as Hitomi rolled to the side.

_What the hell?! She could've seriously hurt me!_

The girl landed on her feet, holding on to her hat as she turned to Hitomi, the glare on her face making Hitomi freeze.

"Wh… What have I ever done to you?!" she asked the Shiketsu student. "Why are you so angry with me?"

"I read your interview," the girl replied. "From the sports festival. You said you lived in America, so tell me, do you know who the Koatsu family is?"

"...No?"

The girl scoffed, grabbing a ball from her pack. "Of course you wouldn't. I've just been wondering...

_Why are you still here?_"

"...what?"

"Talking about how you're always unsure of yourself, about how you don't think you deserved to be there and all that crap…

Why did you get to be praised by the world when even _you_ believed you didn't deserve it?"

They both heard Mera's voice over the loudspeaker again. "Woah, looks like we're at 60 passing examinees now! Slots sure are filling up…"

Hitomi shook her head, focusing on the girl in front of her.

_This is no time for chatting. I need to tag people, _now.

The Shiketsu girl tightened her grip on her ball, leering at Hitomi. "I suppose I'll settle for you as my second target."

The girl aimed her fist at Hitomi again, the air pulsating as Hitomi haphazardly dodged her attack, trying to throw some force fields at the girl as she dove for cover.

_She mentioned the Koatsu family…_

_Is she the Yoshiho Koatsu everyone was talking about?_

"Quit hiding already!"

The rock Hitomi was hiding behind suddenly broke apart, Hitomi feeling her body get launched by some invisible force again. She continued flying through the air before she felt herself hit a rough rock wall, feeling as if the air had been knocked out of her lungs.

_I can't move..._

Her body felt as if it was glued to the surface, like the weight of a planet was being pushed down on her. The auburn-haired girl still had her arm outstretched towards Hitomi as she slowly approached her.

"I've noticed that even with your force fields, you're still bound by gravity. Trying anything will be useless against my quirk, so don't bother."

Hitomi struggled to move, trying to get her arms, her legs, _anything_ out from being pinned to the wall. It was futile, and all Hitomi could do was panic as the Yoshiho drew closer.

"It seems like your performance at the sports festival wasn't a good gauge of your abilities. Back there, you knew the quirks of your classmates. But here?

It looks like you're completely out of your element.

Are you _really_ sure you can be a hero? With a quirk like _that?_"

Yoshiho scoffed. "What a disappointment."

Hitomi faltered from her struggling, only staring at Yoshiho as the girl continued to walk towards her.

"You always seem doubtful, as if you're not sure you can do anything. Even now, it doesn't seem like there's anything you can do to stop me from tapping your targets."

"_You're wrong!_" Hitomi snapped, staring down at the ground. "You're wrong… I _promised_ her I'd be able to…"

"To what?"

_In a way, she's right,_ a small voice chimed in the back of Hitomi's head. _You haven't really done anything to protect people like you said you would. Not at USJ, not when Midoriya and the others dealt with Stain…_

…_not even when Bakugou was kidnapped right in front of you._

Hitomi shook her head, trying to rid those thoughts from her mind.

_Focus on what I can do now._

"Even if I can't do anything now…" Hitomi muttered, staring back at Yoshiho, "there are people who believe that I can. Nari… my parents… they believe I can become a hero, and I can't disappoint them..."

_But can you really become a hero?_

The gravity pushing down on Hitomi from Yoshiho's quirk seemed to strengthen tenfold, the pressure practically suffocating as Yoshiho scowled at her.

"Oh, how sweet. How lucky of you that your parents support and believe in you, even though you can't really do anything. Isn't that just lovely?!"

Yoshiho seemed angrier than ever before, dashing towards Hitomi with the intent to tag one of her targets.

Hitomi was surprised for only a moment before she suddenly remembered one of her super moves, calling out its name moments before Yoshiho could touch her.

"_Supernova!"_

There was a blinding flash as Yoshiho was launched backwards from Hitomi's force field, finally letting go of the hold she kept on the bluenette.

Hitomi fell back to the ground, panting from anxiety that Yoshiho nearly disqualified her.

She stared at Yoshiho with a determined look on her face, while the auburn-haired girl glared back.

* * *

**A/N: I hope Yoshiho is turning out to be everything I've built her up to be ^^;**


	45. Getting Through

**A/N: Hhhhgghh...**

**I stayed up until 2 AM on a Saturday night to finish this chapter's drawing... I'm guessing it took me maybe, god I don't even know, I think I started around 7-ish? So I just sat down for almost 7 hours straight doing this drawing... TvT**

**On a happier note though, I'm really happy with how it turned out! It was based on the manga's second volume cover, the one that had Bakugou and Deku on it from their battle trial. Please check it out! :D**

**Art - Add ****/021ugtm6od3k to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Yoshiho launched another gravity pulse at Hitomi, the bluenette diving out of the way as she tried launching a force field at the girl. She rolled onto the ground, stopping just by the river as Yoshiho dodged her attack.

It went on that way for a while, where Yoshiho would launch an attack at Hitomi, she would dodge, Hitomi would try launching her own attack, and Yoshiho would dodge. Yoshiho was yelling at her all the while.

Apparently Hitomi had said something that had pissed her off.

"IT'S PEOPLE LIKE YOU I HATE THE MOST!" Yoshiho screamed, launching _herself_ towards Hitomi this time. Before Hitomi could even react, Yoshiho had her pinned to the ground, an erratic look on her face that threw Hitomi off for a second.

"You don't even _know_ me!" Hitomi screamed back, using a force field to get Yoshiho off of her and put some distance between them.

"I know enough," the Shiketsu student replied. "I know that you're weak, and doubtful, and _unbelievably_ unsure of yourself, and yet… and yet…" Yoshiho's voice came out strained, as if she was about to cry.

"…Why do you deserve the love and support of your parents when you can't even do anything?!"

That caught Hitomi off-guard.

_What do my parents have to do with this…?_

"Talking about how your parents will always be there for you… how you didn't think you'd be here without them…

It disgusts me."

Yoshiho was looking down at the ground, as if frozen in place. Hitomi only stared back at her, the test momentarily forgotten.

"You have friends, and no one looks at you as if you're a mistake…"

Yoshiho launched herself at Hitomi again, screaming as she flew towards her.

"YOU'RE NOT BLAMED FOR YOUR BROKEN FAMILY!"

Hitomi narrowly avoided her, diving out of the way and making a path for herself to cross the river. She crawled along it, making her way to the forest.

As Yoshiho skidded to a stop, she glared at Hitomi from the other side of the riverbank.

"You were blessed with a quirk that matched your parents'... and you can't even use it to fight me."

She stumbled slightly, her gaze falling to the ground as she held onto one of her gauntlets. "You're so _weak_. If I can beat you, it'll just be another thing that I can use to prove them wrong. I'll get my license, become one of the greatest heroes in existence, and finally make my scummy parents eat their words."

Hitomi faltered, processing what Yoshiho had said.

"_Scummy" parents…?_

"So…" Yoshiho looked back up at Hitomi, her eyes so filled with rage Hitomi would say she almost looked murderous. "Stop running away like the useless person you are, won't you? Make this fight actually worthwhile."

Hitomi flinched at her words, taking a step back.

_She has family issues, just like Todoroki._

Yoshiho aimed her fist at her again, a gravity pulse shooting from her hand. Hitomi narrowly dodged it, seeing it destroy some of the trees.

_She's too strong!_

Yoshiho launched another gravity pulse at Hitomi, the bluenette having no time to dodge. All she could do was make a force field and let herself get pushed back into her own wall, feeling as if the air was knocked out of her lungs.

When the attack finally settled, Hitomi fell to the ground, panting. She stared at the ground, her eyebrows furrowing as she felt herself get annoyed.

There was only so much Hitomi could assume.

But if what she'd figured turned out to be true, and this whole situation _was_ what she thought it was…

Hitomi wasn't just gonna let herself be someone else's punching bag.

"Who cares what your parents think?!" Hitomi yelled.

"Of course someone like _you_ would say something like that!" Yoshiho screamed back, clenching her fists. "You spent years living in a blissful _lie!_ Always getting told you were _worth_ something! You didn't live with the weight of your parents telling you would never amount to _anything_!"

Hitomi's hunch was confirmed, the girl getting up from the ground as her fists clenched.

_She's hurt._

Hitomi couldn't even begin to imagine what Yoshiho's life was like.

Hitomi's eyes glowed, the air getting warmer as she launched a force field at Yoshiho. The Shiketsu student jumped out of the way, launching herself with her quirk and leaving some cracks in the ground.

"And you believe all that?" Hitomi yelled, her voice echoing across the river.

She saw Yoshiho flinch slightly, the girl fumbling her landing. She stumbled a little bit, looking surprised for only a moment before she shook her head, her eyes narrowing. "Why would _I_ believe it?!"

Yoshiho launched another gravity pulse at Hitomi, Hitomi diving to the side as she felt her hair billow behind her. She rolled on the ground, sliding along the dirt. Hitomi groaned, before staring back at Yoshiho, a look of realization in her silver eyes.

"...Because you're scared," Hitomi mumbled, getting up from the ground.

Yoshiho froze, her eyes wide in bewilderment. Hitomi took that chance to attack, forming a large wall and blasting it at the Shiketsu student. Yoshiho recoiled, having no time to dodge and holding her hands up in an attempt to block it. The force field hit her hard, pushing her back as her feet slid across the ground before it finally dissipated.

Yoshiho slowly lowered her arms, a hateful look in her eyes. "_Why would __**I**_ _be scared?_"

Hitomi gulped, feeling as if she was prying into matters she knew nothing about. In a way, that was _exactly_ what she was doing.

But there was something in Hitomi that made her continue.

"You're scared…" Hitomi insisted, her eyebrows furrowing, "...because you're afraid it's all true."

Yoshiho balked, dashing forward and catapulting herself towards Hitomi.

"DON'T TALK SO MINDLESSLY ABOUT THINGS YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!"

Hitomi made a force field around herself on instinct, seeing the soles of Yoshiho's boots as the girl landed on top of the barrier. The cuffs around Yoshiho's wrist glowed, right as Hitomi felt herself get pushed into the ground. The world was rumbling around her, Hitomi getting pushed deeper and deeper into the soil. The immense pressure was making it hard to breathe.

"_You know nothing,_" Yoshiho sneered.

Hitomi was struggling, gasping for air as she heard the ground crack beneath her. Somehow, though, she found the voice in her throat to speak. "You… you're afraid," she choked out, her eyes squeezed shut. "You're afraid they're right… you're afraid you really _are_ worthless."

The gravity increased, Hitomi sinking deeper into the ground.

She needed to get Yoshiho away from her.

Hitomi drew in more heat, the air getting hotter as her force field expanded rapidly in size. Yoshiho was launched back, landing on the other side of the river as Hitomi sat up abruptly. She panted, taking in deep breaths as she could finally breathe again.

Hitomi got up from the ground, albeit wobbily, stumbling slightly.

"You're scared," Hitomi continued, cradling her arm, "that you're useless… You're scared… that they'll look at you, and realize they're right."

_God, how __**ironic.**_

They were both afraid of the exact same thing.

Hitomi took a deep breath, finally finding the courage to look back at the other girl. Yoshiho was scowling at her, the shadow of her hat giving her a dark look in her eyes.

But to Hitomi, at least, there was something that told her it was fake.

There was something that told her… that Yoshiho's hateful resolve was slipping.

"I don't know why you have it out for me so bad…" Hitomi began, backing into the forest, "or what your family's scandal is… I don't know what they've told you… or the things you've been through…"

Hitomi wobbled, placing a hand on one of the tree trunks to balance herself.

"But, whatever your parents did to you…"

She backed into the shadows of the trees, stepping over the roots.

"...you're more than what they say you are."

With that, she turned and ran into the forest, disappearing into the trees as she left Yoshiho to stare at her in shock.

_I'm not strong enough to go up against someone like her._

_It seemed like she has some personal issues she's struggling with, but…_

_I have a test to focus on first._

* * *

Hitomi made her way back to the reception room, breathing a sigh of relief.

After her run-in with Yoshiho, Hitomi managed to find two people in a secluded area, trapping them in force fields and tapping their targets. She had done it while there was only 20 open slots left to pass, and hoped the rest of her class had made it through.

As she put her targets and bag onto the return shelf, her mind drifted back to the auburn-haired girl.

_I wonder if she was able to pass…_

_If she was a first-year skilled enough to participate with the second-years, and is on the same caliber as that Yoarashi guy, who's supposedly better than Todoroki, she should've been able to, right…?_

Even though Hitomi could tell the Shiketsu girl pretty much hated her, it was obvious there was more behind that hate. The girl had mentioned her family, and based on what she'd said to Hitomi...

There was way more to them than Yoshiho had let on.

Hitomi returned to the main room to find Midoriya, Uraraka, Sero, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Bakugou had entered the reception area, and in a rush of excitement, dashed straight for Kirishima for a big hug.

The redhead nearly toppled over, laughing as he hugged back.

"You made it!" Hitomi exclaimed.

"I'm glad to see you did too! Were you with the rest of the class?"

Hitomi pulled back, giving him a sheepish smile. "No… this guy with a vibration quirk separated everyone, and I ended up running off on my own…" She scratched her cheek, looking away. "I actually ran into someone from Shiketsu…"

"Woah, no way! Me, Kaminari, and Bakugou did too!"

"Bakugou?"

She looked at the blonde, recalling that he'd just arrived with the others. "I got here before you? That's wild."

Bakugou scoffed, looking away. "It was because of that dunce face!"

If Kaminari was nearby, he would've whined, but he was off with Mineta pestering Midoriya about something.

"Eh? But you went off on your own, didn't you?" Hitomi teased, raising a brow. "What happened, Bakugou? Didn't want to leave your friends?"

Bakugou scowled, huffing as he looked away. Hitomi and Kirishima both laughed at the sight.

"So, you fought a Shiketsu student right?" Kirishima asked, directing Hitomi's attention back to him. "Were you by yourself?"

"Ah, yeah… I ended up running away, actually. I wonder if she's here…" Hitomi glanced around the room, looking for a Shiketsu hat and auburn hair.

She found her, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, not talking to anyone.

Kirishima followed her gaze, his eyes widening with recognition. "That's Koatsu… she's one of the first-years, right?"

"Yeah… she's really strong, and that's why I decided to run away. But, uh… can you tell me what exactly that whole… 'family scandal' thing is all about?"

Kirishima stared at the girl from across the room for a moment, before he turned back to Hitomi. "Well, I'd feel weird talking about it when she's right there, but… I'll give you the short version.

Y'know the Koatsu Support Company?"

"No…" Hitomi's eyes widened. "Wait. Don't tell me she's…"

Kirishima nodded. "Yeah. She's the daughter of the CEO. Well, supposedly, I guess."

"Supposedly…?"

Kirishima glanced at the girl again, looking wary. "Basically, what happened is that there were accusations of cheating between the CEO and his wife, and because it was the husband doing the accusing, his wife and daughter got the short end of the stick. It was a big thing when it happened a few years ago, and there've been tons of rumors and speculation over whether she's really his daughter or not."

Hitomi stared at the auburn-haired girl, thinking back on their fight.

"_You're not blamed for your broken family."_

There was still so much Hitomi didn't know about her, but now Hitomi had an idea of what those words meant.

* * *

**A/N: I remember when I first wrote this chapter I _really_ wasn't happy with it. Their fight was originally much shorter, but I felt it was too abrupt and the last thing Hitomi told Yoshiho seemed out of nowhere in the original draft, so I added more dialogue to their fight that helps it flow better. At least, I hope it did...**

**But either way, all the extra content I added ended up shooting this chapter to 2040 words. XD**


	46. Search and Rescue Operative

**A/N: This chapter is really badly paced, in my honest opinion. I was trying to make sure I didn't copy everything down word-for-word, and I may have sacrificed a good flow for this chapter in order to do that.**

**Just thought I'd let you all know in case you think this one's weird.**

**Art - Add /0mkkalih379 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"_A terrorist attack by villains has unfolded! The scope of the damage encompasses the entire city, and the collapsed buildings have injured a great many!"_ Mera's voice sounded through the loudspeakers.

The walls of the reception room swung open, the same way the orientation area had.

"_The damage to the roads is severe, causing considerable delays to the first-responders! The heroes on the scene must lead the rescue efforts until they make it there."_

Hitomi ran out to the debris with the rest of the class, right as a horn sounded.

"_Save as many lives as you can, even if it's just one!"_

She followed Midoriya and the others to the closest pile of rubble, hearing a loud voice wailing.

"You've gotta save him!"

There seemed to be a small child, dirty and covered in fake blood, with tears streaming down his face. A portion of the class surrounded him as he continued to cry.

"Grandpa, he's over there! He… he got crushed!"

"Oh no, this is bad!" Midoriya said worriedly. "Where?!"

"What the hell was that?! Points _docked_!" the child exclaimed, throwing everyone off. "Shouldn't you confirm whether or not I can walk?! And if I'm breathing funny?! What about the amount of blood pouring out of my head?! If you've got a provisional license you oughta be able to judge the victim's situation in an instant!"

_Are the people from the Help Us Company gonna be grading us?!_

The child continued lecturing Midoriya, telling everyone to look around them. The people from other schools were clearing debris, making open areas for temporary refuges for the victims, and locating victims that were hidden from view. They knew exactly what they were doing.

The child wiped some blood away from his eye. "You do realize we're all suffering an immense amount of pain and anxiety? The first words out of your mouth should not be 'oh no, this is bad!'"

Hitomi watched as Midoriya suddenly slapped his cheeks, before a bright smile erupted on his face.

"It's alright!"

The child immediately went back to crying, prompting Midoriya to pick him up and take him to the first aid area.

"You guys go ahead!" he told everyone before running off.

...

Hitomi decided to follow after Iida and the others, following her class rep's instructions along with the upperclassmen's from other schools.

She held up unstable structures with her force fields as her classmates carried victims out, and made makeshift gurneys to take those unconscious or unable to walk to the temporary refuges the other schools had made.

Although she was anxious, she followed the advice that child- or, well, she supposed it was an adult since he was a professional rescue victim- had given Midoriya, doing her best to comfort the injured as she helped them out.

As she was taking the latest victim she'd found to a nearby refuge, her mind drifted back to Yoshiho.

_She seemed pretty cross when I ran into her, and she wasn't talking to anyone earlier… Would she be able to pass this portion of the test…?_

Hitomi shook her head as she approached, bringing her attention back to the task at hand.

A second-year student ran towards her. "You! Bring him over here!"

"Uh, right!" Hitomi followed after them, pushing her force field-gurney with her as she explained the victim's injuries to the second-year. "He's injured his leg, but there doesn't seem to be any fatal wounds. He's not responding properly to questions, though, so there might have been some sort of head injury."

"In that case, we need to take him over this way," the second-year said as they gestured for Hitomi to follow them to a different area of the refuge. "We can assess him better over here."

After Hitomi left the victim with the second-year, she ran back out again, looking for any more people who needed rescuing. Checking debris, using the plasma from her force fields to light up darker areas, carrying more victims to the temporary refuges. Word had eventually spread that there was a group of villains attacking the first aid station, and right as Hitomi was about to make her way over there, a loud buzzer sounded.

"_At this moment, all the H.U.C. who were deployed have been rescued from the danger zone. With this, all the provisional licensing exam procedures have been completed."_

_The test… is over…?_

* * *

Hitomi stood with the rest of her class, back in her uniform and taking deep breaths as they awaited the results.

"Alright everyone, thanks for your hard work," Mera said. "I'll now announce the results, but before that, I will tell you about the scoring system. Between those of us at the Heroes Public Safety Commission and H.U.C., we had a two-fold demerit system we used while watching you. In other words, we were evaluating you on how few mistakes you made in a crisis situation.

Anyway, the names of those who passed are listed in syllabary order." Mera raised a hand, gesturing towards the large screen behind him as he finished. "Please check the list while keeping those words in mind."

The screen suddenly turned on, Hitomi nearly wanting to jump over the person in front of her if it would help her find her name faster.

_Ka…! Ka!_

Her eyes caught sight of Kaminari's name, and right below it…

_Kanetsukabe._

She squealed, grasping hands with Kaminari in giddiness. "We did it! _We did it!_"

Next to her she heard Kirishima make a noise of excitement.

"I'm there!"

Hitomi moved to hug him, practically squishing him before she noticed the scowl on Bakugou's face.

"It's not there!" the ash blonde growled.

"Oh no…" Hitomi said, letting go of her hold on Kirishima.

_Bakugou didn't pass…_

Her thoughts were interrupted by Inasa, who she found was in a deep bow, apologizing to Todoroki.

"Todoroki didn't pass…?" she heard Mina say.

_No way…!_

_The two strongest people in our class failed?!_

Mera's voice was heard over the loudspeakers, putting the class' chatter to a halt. "Um, next we'll pass out your results," he announced as the Commission staff split off to hand them out. "They have a breakdown of your results, so look over them carefully."

As Hitomi waited to get her paper, Mera continued explaining the details of the results. "The cutoff score was 50 points. We scored based on a demerit system. You can see how many points were taken off for which actions all listed on the printouts."

"Kanetsukabe."

Hitomi turned to find a paper held out towards her, and she eagerly grabbed it. The number "82" was underlined at the bottom, sending a wave of relief through Hitomi.

_That's a pretty good score…! Better than I would've expected…_

Hitomi felt her lips curl up in a timid smile.

_Maybe… Maybe I really can be a hero._

* * *

**A/N: The license exam ends pretty quickly because Hitomi's not a part of the kids' fight against Gang Orca, and also because I didn't really want to spend too much time on how Hitomi handles rescuing the victims. This arc was more for Yoshiho's introduction and Hitomi's development, which is what I spent my time focusing on. You can assume that a lot of the points she missed were because of how she, like everyone else, was unsure of what to do at the beginning, though.**


	47. The Girls of Shiketsu and UA

**A/N: I hope you guys really liked Yoshiho, because she'll be appearing more in future chapters. I love her way too much to only show her in the provisional license exam.**

**Please check the art for this chapter, if that's okay! I drew a fake manga screencap this time around, similar to the UA files where it explains the character's quirk. I made one for Yoshiho, since I never really had a chance to explain it properly in the story ^^;**

**Art - Add ****/2243pa5qp3bh to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"Kanetsukabe."

Hitomi recognized the voice, her head swiveling abruptly to find Yoshiho Koatsu standing before her. Behind the girl, Hitomi noticed a small number of students here and there whispering to each other as they stared directly at the auburn-haired girl. Some of her own classmates had even fallen silent, anticipating what Yoshiho had to say.

Hitomi started to feel herself panic, worried over what Yoshiho was going to say to her this time.

Before that panic could worsen, Yoshiho bent forward, in a bow.

"...I'm sorry for the things I said to you earlier," she heard her mumble.

"Huh?!" Hitomi gasped, taking a step back. Behind her she heard Kaminari and Sero make noises of disbelief. Some more of her classmates had turned away from their exam results, turning their attention to the exchange between the two girls.

Yoshiho rose from her bow, holding on to her hat as she avoided making direct eye contact with Hitomi.

"I… had a lot of time to think about my actions during the exam. And I realized all those things I said to you were uncalled for.

They were coming from a place of anger that I ended up directing all towards you, but… I suppose that's no excuse for what I said.

I shouldn't have said all those hurtful things to you, and…" Yoshiho let go of her hat, her face adorning a shameful look. "I'm sorry for all that. The things I said to you were the exact kind of words I'd never want to hear directed at me, and... you didn't deserve that."

Hitomi was simply shocked, staring at Yoshiho in disbelief.

_What's with the sudden change in attitude?!_

Yoshiho's eyes widened, and Hitomi slapped a hand over her mouth realizing she'd said that out loud.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Hitomi stuttered. "It's just, it was obvious you really hated me, so your apology kind of threw me off…" Her cheeks turned red, inwardly cursing to herself that she didn't just accept the damn apology.

If she was going to embarrass herself, might as well go all out, huh?!

Yoshiho didn't look bothered though, only glancing at her own exam printout.

"What you said to me before you ran off…" she started. "I had a lot of time to think about it, during the second half of the exam."

_What _I _said…?_

"I suppose I was trying to ignore my feelings this whole time, and I just needed to hear it vocalized. I ended up thinking about what you said the whole time, which is why I didn't pass…"

"What?!"

Before Hitomi could protest about that, Mera had started talking again, causing her to fall silent as Yoshiho walked away.

* * *

Hitomi grasped her provisional license in her hands as she followed the class out of the arena, the sky a bright orange as the sun set.

The name "Blue Moon" was in large font at the bottom, making Hitomi smile.

_I… can't believe this is real. I really did it._

As she followed the Bakusquad to the buses, she heard her name, realizing they were talking to her.

She stuffed her (shiny, new, aaaggh she couldn't believe it) provisional license into her bag, shifting her attention to them. "Sorry, could you repeat that?"

"Oh, I was just pointing out…" Kaminari started, laughing a little. "Both you and Todoroki had those Shiketsu students apologizing to you. You guys must've really pissed them off, huh?"

"It wasn't like that!" Hitomi shot back, her mind drifting back to Yoshiho again. She'd finally had the chance to search up what the "Koatsu Family Scandal" was on her phone as they were waiting to get their pictures for their licenses taken, and she'd discovered a lot, to say the least.

Like Kirishima had said, the CEO of the Koatsu Support Company had accused his wife of cheating, but there was more to it than just that.

It turned out that Yoshiho was born with a completely different quirk from her parents, and because of that, her father had believed his wife was having an affair. Even though there have been rare cases of genetic mutations resulting in the manifestation of a completely random quirk, apparently Yoshiho's father hadn't wanted to take any chances, filing for a divorce.

There was dozens of news stories about it, many of which called Yoshiho's mother words Hitomi personally thought were too vulgar for the news, while Yoshiho herself was called things along the lines of an illegitimate child.

It explained everything Yoshiho had said to her back during their fight. What she meant when she said Hitomi was lucky that she had a quirk similar to her parents', that she had their support, and that she wasn't blamed for a broken family.

It explained why people would look at Yoshiho warily, whispering to each other about her with few speaking to her directly.

Because turning out to be the illegitimate daughter of the leader of one of the largest support item companies in the industry was not something many would simply ignore.

_That must have been hard, being seen that way._

Hitomi found herself seeking her, spotting Yoshiho's dark auburn hair as the Shiketsu class was approaching the buses. She was at the back of the group, as if isolated, staring at the ground and not talking to anyone.

She looked really, really lonely.

Before Hitomi realized it, her feet were moving towards them, breaking out into a run just as the Shiketsu students began boarding the bus.

"K… Koatsu-san!" the bluenette called out. The girl in question turned to look at her in surprise.

Hitomi slowed as she approached the girl, setting her hero costume case down as she reached into her pocket for her phone. "Do you have your phone on you right now?"

Yoshiho's eyes widened in confusion. "Yes. But why…?"

Hitomi held her hand out expectantly. "I just need it really quick."

Yoshiho looked at her suspiciously, eyeing her as Hitomi pulled her own phone out, her arm still outstretched. The Shiketsu student finally relented, taking her phone out and unlocking it before placing it in Hitomi's hand.

Hitomi opened her Contacts page, copying Yoshiho's number to her phone while she put her own number on Yoshiho's. Once she saved the info, she handed Yoshiho's phone back to her, scratching her cheek sheepishly.

"Sorry if that was a little pushy… but, if you ever need anyone to talk to, or anything…" Hitomi shot her a warmer smile this time, picking her hero costume case back up. "I'll be free to listen."

She then scurried back to her own class' bus before Yoshiho could object, feeling herself get embarrassed.

"What were you doing?" Sero asked, an eyebrow raised as their class began entering the bus.

Hitomi scratched her cheek, looking away sheepishly. "I… uh… I gave Koatsu-san my number."

"Your number, huh?" Kaminari teased, his head tilting to the side. "How bold of you, Hitomi!"

Hitomi spluttered, waving her hand sheepishly. "N-Not like that…!" She sighed, her grip tightening on her hero costume case. "I just… I don't know… I wanted to give her someone to talk to, I guess…? I don't even know if she'll keep my number…"

"Hah?" Bakugou muttered, raising a brow. "Didn't you piss off that paste face or something?"

Hitomi shook her head, the group beginning to filter into the bus. "She told me her anger came from a place that wasn't specifically meant for me… and she apologized for it." Hitomi felt her eyebrows furrow as she followed him down the aisle.

She watched as Bakugou sank into the seat next to Kirishima, before sitting into her own seat across the aisle next to Mina. "I just… hope she'll let me talk to her. And that… she'd be okay with talking to me."

"Don't doubt yourself, Hitomi!" Kirishima exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat. "You're the type of person to really grow on someone, not to mention no one can resist that adorable face of yours!"

Hitomi felt herself blush at her friend's compliment. "Eh?!" she stuttered, holding her bag tighter in her lap. "I'm not…"

"Kirishima's not wrong," Bakugou added, crossing his arms. "You may be quiet as _fuck_, but at least you're not constantly breathing down my neck like Pikachu or Pinky."

"Hey!" Mina and Kaminari both pouted.

Hitomi saw Mina huff, before the pink girl patted her shoulder. "They're right, though," Mina smiled. "I bet you guys'll be friends in no time!"

Hitomi felt her shoulders relax, feeling her heart soar at all her friends' kind words. "Thanks, you guys," she mumbled.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, staring at Yoshiho's contact info.

_I hope…_

_I hope she'll let me be her friend._

* * *

**A/N: Okay. So now that the provisional license arc is finally done...**

**This is where the _heavy _Bakutomi plot begins. When I say "heavy", it's _heavy._ Like, it takes up such a large majority of the second half of this fic (30 chapters) that this story essentially becomes a romance novel.**

**Because this fic finally has a set ending.**


	48. A New Friend

**A/N: Okay remember how I said this is where the heavy Bakutomi plot begins**

**That was a lie lol**

**We got one more chapter with my baby Yoshiho, and _then_ the Bakutomi arc will begin, I promise. I'm dubbing it "Momo's Birthday Arc", because, well, that title's relevant to what will happen. It'll start slow at first, but once it gets going, it's _heavy_. ;)**

**Art - ****Add /0282gv9h3oeb to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi paced around the kitchen while the rest of the class was gathered in the common area, grasping her phone as she tried psyching herself up.

She'd excitedly texted a picture of her license to her family and Nari, and had now spent the past half hour or so trying to muster the courage to send Yoshiho a text.

Hitomi had only been able to become friends with her class because a majority of them were friendly and outgoing people.

So the fact that this was one of the few times she was going to initiate a friendship on her own, with someone who was just as quiet as her, if not even moreso, was nerve-wracking to say the least. It was different from when she'd become friends with Kirishima, because with him, he had been so open and friendly, making it easy.

This time it all fell on her to be the open one.

Hitomi sighed, deleting the latest message she'd attempted to type.

_What am I even thinking?! I'm not a sociable person… she never even liked me to begin with, and just because she apologized to me, that doesn't mean she'd want anything to do with me now._

_I'm hopeless…_

Hitomi stared at the blank message screen, her eyes glossing over Yoshiho's contact name.

_Koatsu._

_I'm… I'm not doing this to be… _arrogant_, am I?!_

Hitomi blanched at the intrusive thought, setting her phone down on the counter.

_No. I'm doing this because…_

_Because I know what it's like to feel lonely. To feel like everything is your fault._

_And I want to help her the same way everyone's helped me…_

Hitomi didn't really know enough about Yoshiho's social status, but from what she could garner during the short time they were at the exam, not only did people steer clear of her, but it seemed like Yoshiho _chose_ to try and isolate herself.

Hitomi picked her phone back up, typing a short and simple message this time. Before she could hesitate, her thumb hit "Send", leaving her no room to take it back.

**Me: **Hey! It's Hitomi, from the license exam.

The bluenette held her breath, watching her phone for any sign Yoshiho had seen her message. Just as she was about to give up and switch her phone off, message bubbles appeared, meaning Yoshiho was typing something in reply.

**Koatsu: **yes. Kanetsukabe, right?

Hitomi breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Yoshiho had decided to keep her number and was open for conversation.

Now it was up to Hitomi to keep that conversation going.

**Me: **yup! By the way, you can just call me hitomi, if you want to. So

Hitomi's thumbs hovered over the keyboard, the message unfinished. Not a single topic was coming to mind, making Hitomi grit her teeth in frustration.

Why did social anxiety have to be such a _bitch_?!

_Just… ask something_, she thought.

**Me:** yup! By the way, you can just call me hitomi, if you want to. So what's shiketsu like?  
**Koatsu:** I'd say it's pretty rigorous. from what I've heard about UA, shiketsu is a lot stricter compared to your school's looser style of teaching  
**Me:** Wow! Really? :0  
**Koatsu:** yeah.

It seemed as if the conversation had ended there, and Hitomi didn't want to end it on such an awkward note.

**Me:** what kind of training do you do?  
**Koatsu:** we start with the same kinds of drills every day, and then we follow whatever lesson plan was designated for that week  
**Koatsu:** we focused entirely on combat training during the last week of first term, for example  
**Me:** wow, that IS a lot different from ours  
**Me:** we kind of do random exercises every day, unless there's something specific they want us working on

Yoshiho didn't say anything after that, leaving Hitomi feeling awkward again. It was then that the class had finally decided to turn in for the night, and everyone dispersed, leaving Hitomi to try racking her brain for anything else she could talk about. As she entered her room, her eyes trailed to the constellation chart by her bed, giving her an idea.

**Me:** what kind of stuff do you like?

Hitomi didn't get a reply for several minutes, making her sigh as she made her way to her bathroom to brush her teeth. Once she had finished, she plugged in her phone, about to turn off the light before her phone pinged. She quickly grabbed it, scanning the message.

**Koatsu: **pardon?

Hitomi let out a little chuckle. It seemed that when Yoshiho wasn't angry, she had that sort of slight obliviousness to her. It reminded Hitomi a little of Todoroki.

**Me:** I mean hobbies, or stuff you just generally enjoy. I really like science!  
**Koatsu: **Oh.  
**Koatsu:** I enjoy jogging, I guess.  
**Koatsu:** and onigiri...  
**Me:** onigiri, huh? I haven't had any in a while haha XD

Hitomi cringed at what she just sent. _Oh my god, I could _feel _the awkward in that…_

**Me:** I really like boba!  
**Koatsu:** I've never had that before...

Hitomi stared at that message for a solid three seconds.

**Me:** if you ever come to Musutafu, I am dragging you to the boba place my best friend works at  
**Koatsu:** ?  
**Me:** if you ever try happen to try boba, it should come from my friend's workplace. I think you'd like her.  
**Koatsu:** Ah.

Hitomi yawned, feeling the conversation had finally drifted off. She stared back at their messages, happy with the progress she'd made with the other girl. _I hope she doesn't think I'm annoying or anything..._

**Me:** Anyways, it's late. I should head to bed  
**Me:** good night, koatsu  
**Koatsu:** Good night.

It seemed there was still an air of awkwardness between the two of them, but Hitomi was glad she had reached out and made a new friend.

* * *

**A/N: I hope Yoshiho's switch from an opposing force to Hitomi to a (maybe? possibly?) friend isn't too abrupt, or out of place. She's essentially to Hitomi what Todoroki is to Deku, and I hope I was able to carry that out well enough.**

**I decided to change the format of how texts will appear, because 1) the old format did _not_ look that great, and 2) I can't format Hitomi's texts to the right on this darn website -.-**


	49. The Start of Second Term

**A/N: After withholding these chapters to myself since the very beginning of September, the Bakutomi arc, aka "Momo's Birthday Arc", has officially started! I'm so glad to finally be posting this stuff, I've been keeping it to myself for so long TvT**

**Art - Add ****/2isdx0sftq8 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"WHAAAAT?!"

A chorus of voices was the first thing Hitomi heard as the elevator doors opened, her noticing everyone crowded around the common area.

She yawned as she stepped out, noticing Bakugou and Midoriya at the center of it all vacuuming the floor.

"You guys fought…" Hitomi heard Mina start.

"... and now you're under house arrest?!" Tooru finished.

Hitomi walked towards the group, rubbing at her eye as she heard everyone calling the two boys variations of "stupid".

"Sorry, what's going on?"

"Midoriya and Bakugou duked it out!" Kaminari explained, pointing at them. "They fought after curfew, and now they're under house arrest as punishment. They're pretty dumb, if you ask me," he smirked.

"I heard that, Dunce Face!" Bakugou yelled.

Kaminari waved him off, laughing as Hitomi made her way to the kitchen to get herself some breakfast.

_So they fought, huh? I wonder why…_

Hitomi made herself some toast, nibbling on it as she got her bag ready, and stared at the two boys.

_Does it have something to do with Bakugou not passing the exam? But he has extra classes with Todoroki so he can get it in December, so he should be fine..._

Bakugou caught her stare, and glared at her. "What?!" he growled.

"Oh, nothing…" Hitomi replied, continuing to eat her toast. "I just hope whatever you guys were fighting about has been resolved now."

Bakugou scowled at her, before returning back to his vacuuming.

* * *

Monoma had taken to gloating while everyone was by the shoe lockers, laughing at their class because of the fact Todoroki and Bakugou had failed.

"According to Vlad Teacher," a girl with blonde hair and large horns started, "we'll have classes together this semester! I'm looking forward to it!"

Hitomi heard bits of English throughout the girl's sentences, and the thick accent was enough to tell her the girl wasn't from Japan.

Kirishima brought his hands together, a smile adorning his face. "Oh, I can't wait to test out my skills!"

"Anyway, you're an exchange student, right?!" Kaminari asked, right as Monoma was whispering in the girl's ear.

"I'll beat you up so bad you won't be able to get up!" the girl exclaimed, surprising all three of them. They all gaped at her before Monoma burst out laughing, causing Kendo to yell "Don't teach her weird phrases!" before hitting him in the neck.

Hitomi approached the girl, asking, "Um, Tsunotori-san, was it? You're from America, right?"

She said that all in English, causing the girl's eyes to widen in surprise. "Oh! You speak fluent English?"

Hitomi nodded, turning to watch Kendo drag Monoma away. "He told you to say you'd beat my friends up."

Tsunotori's hands flew to her mouth, the girl embarrassed. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"Hey, we're trying to get through back here!" a deep voice sounded. It was somewhat familiar to Hitomi, her looking to find a face she knew from the sports festival approaching with his class.

"Shinsou-san!" she exclaimed. As he drew closer, Hitomi felt something was different about him. It was almost as if he'd bulked up a bit…

…

The opening ceremony was a bit of a drag.

Principal Nezu gave a speech about how times were changing, while Hound Dog brought to attention that two students had gotten into a fight the previous night (ahem, which happened to be two certain boys from Class 1-A), and told everyone that he hoped they would be able to live a life of moderation from now on.

The only thing of note for the day was the mention of work studies, which were hero activities outside of school. Much to the chagrin of the class, however, Aizawa only gave them a brief explanation of the studies because he'd would go more in depth about them another day.

* * *

Once school had ended, Hitomi brushed right past the dorms as the rest of the class headed inside.

"Hitomi?" Kirishima called after her. "You're not coming in?"

"Ah, no, not yet…" Hitomi smiled at him, sending a wave to the group. "I've got a date."

With that, she left, leaving the Bakusquad to stare at her back in shock.

"WHAT?!" Mina yelled after a few moments, watching the bluenette's figure get smaller. "Hitomi has a date with someone, and she didn't tell _me_?!"

"You think _you're_ surprised?" Kirishima replied, raising a brow. He clenched his fist, faking a tear. "She didn't tell _me_, her bestie…"

"That damn Hitomi," Kaminari whined, "while we were all getting ready for the license exam, she somehow had the time to set up a date with someone!"

"Hey, guys, we shouldn't just assume," Sero started as the group approached Bakugou, who was wiping the coffee table. "Just 'cause she has a date doesn't mean it's romantic."

Bakugou hand suddenly stopped, halting his cleaning.

"What if it is, though?" Mina said. She clasped her hands together, a dreamy look on her face. "Just imagine it… our sweet Hitomi, going out with someone… holding hands, being romantic… aaahh, I'm not ready to let her go to some guy yet!"

"You think it's someone from another class?" Kaminari asked, to which Kirishima only shrugged.

"_Guys_," Sero scolded, crossing his arms. "Stop theorizing about this mystery guy, or whatever. If Hitomi has a date, she has a date. You can ask her about it when she gets back, but for now, just let it be."

"_Oh my god_," Bakugou growled, moving away from the table. "Don't crowd around me when I'm trying to clean here, fucking hell."

"Oh, I forgot you're on house arrest," Kaminari teased. He glanced at the table, pointing at a leftover stain. "You missed a spot."

"That's because I'm not finished, _dumbass_!"

* * *

Hitomi swung the door of the boba shop open, making a beeline for the cash register.

Nari waved at her from behind the counter, smiling as the bluenette approached. "I'll be on break in 10 minutes. The usual, right?"

"Mhmm," Hitomi nodded, getting out her wallet. "Add some curly fries too, please."

…

Nari plopped into the seat across from Hitomi, sighing as she leaned against the window. "Waah, it's been slow so far today…"

"You're lucky," Hitomi remarked, taking a sip of her boba. "You don't start till next week."

"Yeah, but I've still got work," Nari whined, grabbing a fry. "Although, I suppose I can't complain. _You've_ had a pretty hectic summer break, huh…?"

"Hectic is one way to call it," Hitomi snarked, chomping on a fry.

"Either way," Nari started, before sitting up in her chair. "You got your license, right?! Do you have it on you right now?" Hitomi pulled it out of her bag, sliding it across the table as Nari squealed. "Oh my god, wow!" the blonde exclaimed, picking it up.

She read over the license, feeling her chest swell with pride for her friend. "It's really official now, huh?"

"Yeah. My eyes looked kinda droopy in the photo for some reason, though…"

"Oh, Hitomi," Nari remarked, handing the license back. "They always look like that."

"_Hey._"

"Don't tell me I'm wrong." Nari grabbed some more of Hitomi's fries, watching as her friend suddenly brought her hands up to her cheeks.

"They aren't really that droopy, are they?! Are they noticeable? Oh, but I guess they are if Bakugou called me 'Droopy Eyes' at the sports festival…"

"Hitomi, chill," Nari laughed. "I was kidding. They're not _that_ droopy."

"But you're saying they are in the first place?!"

Nari chuckled, watching Hitomi's cheeks flush as the bluenette felt her eyes, trying to confirm if they really were what Nari said they were.

"Anyways," Hitomi scoffed, glaring at Nari while the blonde only feigned ignorance, blissfully eating her fries. "I think… I think I made a new friend."

"Like on your own?"

Hitomi nodded, snatching her box of fries back from Nari. "Yeah. I initiated it this time around, and she's pretty quiet, just like me."

Nari gasped, before pretending to cry. "I can't believe it… my shy Hitomi is making her own friends…" She slumped over the table, making wailing sounds. "Don't forget about me when you've grown up with all your new friends…!" She tried making another grab for the fries, before Hitomi held it away just out of her reach.

"Stop stealing my food."

"Ehh, you're so lame. So is your new friend from another class?" Nari asked as she moved to sit back in her seat.

Hitomi shook her head. "I met her during the license exam, actually. She's from Shiketsu…"

"All the way in the west?!"

"Yeah… don't judge, but…" Hitomi leaned in closer, as if she was relaying top secret information. "You know the 'Koatsu Family Scandal', right?"

"I don't see how this is related, but yeah."

"The daughter was actually at the same arena as us, as a Shiketsu student. I fought her during the first half of the exam."

Nari's eyebrows shot up into her hair. "Are you telling me… you made friends with her?"

"Yeah. I just…" Hitomi ran her fingers through her hair, looking away. "I didn't know what that whole 'scandal' thing was until after the exam, and when I saw her she just… looked lonely, I guess. She kind of reminded me of, well, _me_.

You don't think I want to be her friend because I'm trying to get her to see me as her… _savior_, or something, right?"

Nari rested her cheek on her hand. "Honestly, Hitomi, you worry too much. The fact you're even worrying about that tells me that's not what you're trying to do in the first place. So stop thinking like that." She flicked the bluenette's forehead, using that distraction to steal another fry.

"So… Yoshiho Koatsu, huh? I can't believe you were able to get her to be your friend! That's major, especially for you. What's she like?"

"She's kind of awkward, honestly. But it seems like she's trying! She was responding to me fine last night…"

"I'm proud of you, Hitomi. I'm glad you're breaking out of your shell more!"

Hitomi smiled at that, eating another fry. "I want you to meet her. I think you'd be able to hold a conversation better than I could…"

The two childhood friends talked for a little while longer, before Nari had to return to her work.

"Are you going back after you're done or are you staying here?" Nari asked.

Hitomi hummed. "I might as well stay here and try and get some homework done. I don't know how distracted I'll be back at the dorms..."

"Don't you have a curfew?"

"I don't need to go back for another hour or two, so you're stuck with me for now," Hitomi laughed.

* * *

**A/N: This arc will be largely slice-of-life, because the kids deserve to be kids and have fun.**

**I wasn't kidding when I said this thing becomes a romance novel, so have fun with the next... ((checks my notes)) oh, it's pretty much until the end of this fic lol**


	50. Spill the Beans

**A/N: Honorifics have officially been _dropped_. Trying to keep track of them all was tiring, and then whenever I'd read through the published chapters I'd just... cringe, I guess? seeing the "-chan" so much. Deku and Iida will be the only ones to keep using honorifics, because they're the only ones that feel right using them to me.**

**By the way, the anime Fruits Basket is mentioned in this chapter. I wrote it under the impression you already know the characters and the story, but hopefully it still makes enough sense to stand on its own ^^;**

**On the other hand, if you haven't watched it, GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW WHAT ARE YOU DOING IT'S AMAZING**

**Add - ****Add /02352fjnuqhw to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi ran down the sidewalk, nearly tripping over her own two feet. It was already dark out, the crisp night air nipping at her skin despite it still being summer.

Hitomi had gotten lost in her own little world at the boba shop, and before she knew it, she had 15 minutes left to get back to her dorm before she faced punishment for staying out after curfew.

She ran through the main gate of the campus, glancing at her phone to see she had two minutes left.

_I can make it…!_

The seconds ticked by as she ran down the pathway, Heights Alliance drawing nearer as she sped up.

_Almost…!_

She unceremoniously crashed through the door with 15 seconds to spare, dropping to her knees and panting from her run.

"Ah, Kanetsukabe-kun!" She heard Iida call from the common area. She looked up to see he was with Uraraka and Todoroki in the couches, while some of their other classmates were sitting at the dining tables. Midoriya was wiping the countertop, while Bakugou was vacuuming by the boys' baths.

Iida gestured a hand at her, as if to scold her. "What were you doing out so late?"

Hitomi got up from the floor, taking off her shoes as she walked to the couches.

"I was just hanging out with Nari, and I kinda lost track of time..." She rubbed her arms, the faint feeling of the crisp night air still lingering on her skin.

Iida noticed that, adjusting his glasses. "Don't stay out that late too often. Fall is approaching, and I would hate for you to get a cold."

Hitomi gave him a sheepish smile, nodding in an effort to placate his worry for her.

"Hitomi," Uraraka said, turning around in her seat. "Are you still up for dinner? There's some leftover ramen."

"No, that's okay. I already-"

"HITOMI!"

Hitomi turned to find Mina and Kaminari marching towards her, with a curious Kirishima and an exasperated Sero trailing after them.

Mina grabbed the bluenette by the shoulders, shaking her. "Hitomi…"

"Yes…?"

"You can't just drop that you have a date and then run off!"

Hitomi sweatdropped, confused.

"Huh?!"

Kaminari pointed at her, glaring. "I can't believe you were able to land a date before _me_! And after all that stuff during summer break, too!"

"So who's the guy?!" Mina whined, shaking her again. "Is it someone from another class? Is he from another school?" Mina suddenly gasped, her shaking becoming more erratic. "IS IT AN UPPERCLASSMAN?"

Sero facepalmed at his friends' pushiness, while Kirishima leaned in with Kaminari and Mina to hear Hitomi's answer.

"What are you talking about…?"

"Your! Date!" Mina nearly yelled, drawing attention to the group.

"My…? _Oh._" Hitomi's eyes widened in realization as she remembered what she told them before leaving, before her cheeks suddenly flushed. "Wait- you thought I was- you thought I was going on a _date_ date?!"

"That's what you said, didn't you?"

"I- no!" Hitomi shook her head, her heart beating faster at the prospect of being romantically involved with someone. That was _far_ out of her reach. "I was hanging out with _Nari_. It was a _friend_ date…"

"See, I told you guys," Sero cut in, crossing his arms. "How many times do I have to tell you not to assume things…"

"Aww…" Mina pouted. She and Kaminari then apologized to her, Hitomi being quick to forgive them before she left to go to her room.

As she made her way to the elevators, she passed by Bakugou as she suddenly sneezed.

"ACHOO!"

Hitomi sniffled, bringing a hand up to her nose as she pressed the button. "Bakugou, I think you may be kicking up dust or something."

Bakugou scowled at her, vacuuming a lot faster. "Yeah, as if. I'm _vacuuming_, not dusting. You probably got sick from whatever guy you were on a date with or some shit."

Hitomi groaned, still waiting for the elevator. It had stopped on the third floor, meaning someone was likely coming down. She felt an odd feeling bubbling in her chest at the fact Bakugou had thought she was on a date with another guy, but she ignored the feeling, squashing it down. "Ugh, not you too. I wasn't on a _romantic_ date, I was with Nari, jeez."

The elevator finally arrived, the doors sliding open. Jirou stepped out, giving a Hitomi a quick smile as she walked past.

"...You guys think too highly of me to think anyone would want to go on a date with me in the first place," Hitomi muttered to herself, but it was loud enough for Bakugou to hear it as she stepped inside.

…

Hitomi made her way to the kitchen, fighting the urge to yawn as she heard the sounds of the Bakusquad watching TV in the common area. She grabbed a glass of water, as her throat was feeling slightly scratchy for some reason.

"Hey, Hitomi!" Kirishima waved, giving her a grin.

Hitomi smiled, giving him a wave as she took a sip of her water. Her ears perked up at the sound of whatever was playing on the TV, recognizing the voice.

_"...I_ hate_ chives! What's wrong with salmon or octopus rice balls, anyway?!"_

Hitomi made her way over, gasping at what was playing.

"You guys are watching Fruits Basket!?"

"Yeah!" Mina cheered, her face breaking into a grin. "I was looking through my closet and I found it at the bottom of one of my boxes, so we decided to watch!"

Hitomi beamed, plopping herself onto the open spot next to Kirishima. "I love Fruits Basket!"

Some of her water sloshed out of the cup, splashing onto the carpet next to where Bakugou was sitting.

"Hey, watch it you damn klutz!"

Hitomi blinked, smiling sheepishly as she placed her glass on the coffee table. "Sorry! It's just… _Fruits Basket._"

Bakugou scowled, turning back to the TV. "...You're lucky it's just water."

Hitomi leaned forward, staring at the back of his head. "I'm surprised you're watching. Aren't you usually asleep by now?"

Bakugou rolled his eyes, resting his arms on the table. "I have _taste_. Fruits Basket is worth it."

Hitomi hummed, turning her attention back to the TV.

Tohru had just finished talking about how everyone had a plum on their back, and how great Kyo was. Hitomi watched as Kyo blushed at Tohru's compliment, holding her heart as she squealed.

"Kyo…! My little firecracker!"

The squad all looked at her in surprise, seeing Hitomi was beaming at the TV.

"'Firecracker'?" Sero asked her.

Hitomi stopped, slapping her hands over her mouth in embarrassment. "...You heard nothing."

"Oh, no," Kirishima smirked, poking her leg. "What was that, huh?"

Hitomi spluttered, her eyes glued to the TV. "N-nothing! I just…" She trailed off as the episode continued, recalling the current scene that was playing out was one of her favorites.

_"...You've got one on your back, too,"_ Kyo mumbled, looking over his shoulder sheepishly at Tohru. _"A plum. I can see it."_

Hitomi covered her face, leaning back in her seat. "Aah…! He's so adorable!"

"Heeeh…" Mina smirked, observing Hitomi. She shared a look with Kaminari, who was also smirking. No words were exchanged, but they both knew they were thinking the exact same thing.

"Hitomi…" Kaminari started, leaning forward. Hitomi pulled her hands away from her face, seeing a sly look in his eyes. "Do you…

Have a _thing_ for Kyo?"

Hitomi choked on air, her face bright red as she spluttered and her eyes darted around frantically. "W-_What?!_" She laughed nervously, holding her hands up. "A _thing?!_ I don't-"

"You totally do!" Kirishima exclaimed, pulling her in and messing up her hair. Hitomi whined, trying to fight her friend's grip. "Just look at how much you're gushing over him!"

Hitomi's face felt hot as she gave Kirishima a glare, although there was no real malice behind it. "I-!" She halted, denial on the tip of her tongue. Hitomi stopped to think about it, before pulling away and grumbling to herself. "Hmph," she pouted, her gaze falling back to the TV. "I guess… I _might_ have… had a crush on him when I was a kid… or whatever."

Mina squealed, leaning back in her seat as Kaminari and Sero burst out laughing.

"Oh, so you like _bad boys_, huh?" Kaminari said in between giggles.

"Wha-! I- I don't-!"

"Fuckin' nerd," Bakugou scoffed in front of her.

Hitomi felt blood rush down her neck and all the way to her ears, seeing Bakugou was smirking as he continued to watch.

"Hey! I- I'm not-!" The words all got jumbled up in her throat as her friends all teased her, making Hitomi hide her face as she groaned.

"He's not _just_ a bad boy…!" Hitomi tried to protest, everyone's laughter dying down.

Sero shrugged his shoulders, a wide grin on his face. "Please, enlighten us."

Hitomi puffed her cheeks out at his teasing, bunching up the fabric of her shorts in her hands. "He may be hot-tempered, but…" Her gaze shifted back to the TV, seeing the credits had begun to roll. "...that's not all he is. Kyo's got a softer side, and… he wants to protect and take care of the people he cherishes, especially Tohru… I just think that's really great."

Hitomi's eyes widened, before she slapped her hands over her face. "... Aw, crap."

The Bakusquad erupted into snickers and giggles again, Kirishima poking her shoulder. "You _loooooove_ him," he teased. "You'd probably wanna date him if he was real."

Hitomi grabbed a pillow, smacking it into Kirishima's face. "Shut up!" she stuttered, looking away embarrassed. "I wouldn't-!"

"Fucking christ, quit denying it." Bakugou grabbed the pillow that had fallen onto the floor, tossing it at her. "It's obvious, you idiot."

"Oh, come on, not you too!" Hitomi whined. She saw Bakugou had a shit-eating smirk on his face like the bastard he was, making her sigh in exasperation.

"...I can't believe you guys."

The Bakusquad burst out laughing again, making Hitomi stand up from her seat in a huff. "I won't stand for this slander!" she griped. Hitomi crossed her arms, looking away. "I'll admit… I _may_ like Kyo." Hitomi hmphed, puffing her cheeks out again. "But there's nothing wrong with that and that's _final_. Now if you'll excuse me," Hitomi grabbed her glass of water and chugged it, before making her way to the kitchen to rinse it. "I'm going to sleep."

The Bakusquad bid her "good nights" as she made her way to the elevators, leaving Hitomi to her own thoughts as it took her up to the fourth floor. Her friends made have teased her a little, but it wasn't like she was actually _mad_.

They _were_ right, she supposed. And, admittedly, it was a little funny when you thought about it.

_Say…_

_Isn't…_ Bakugou…_ sort of like Kyo…?_

* * *

**A/N: The second half of this chapter was completely rewritten ahaha**

**I realized I had misnamed the chapters when I was looking through my docs, and realized I had done goofed when I saw there was no Ch 53 or 54. So what was originally in the latter half of this chapter was moved to next chapter, and the first half of Ch 55 was moved there as well, making it its own with some extra content I added in ^^**

**On the bright side, now I have more space to fill in with Bakutomi content! I already have a set point for the "realization of feelings", but looking back at it I would have liked to write more of their relationship before the realization point, so this little goof I did gives me more room to do that.**


	51. Unwell

**A/N: This was one of the chapters that didn't exist before, and became an amalgamation of others along with some extra writing I had to do, ahaha**

**Art - Add ****/02dabwtam1fq to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"Hey, Hitomi. Wake uuup..."

Hitomi's eyelids fluttered open, her head rising up from her arms to realize she had fallen asleep on her desk.

Uraraka had stirred her awake, and Hitomi rubbed her eyes to see the brunette, Iida, and Todoroki crowded around her desk.

Hitomi blinked, staring at the three of them. "Did I fall asleep…?"

Uraraka nodded, smiling at her a little bit. "Yeah, it's lunchtime now. You wanna sit with us today?"

Hitomi got up from her seat, smiling back. "I guess I haven't really in a while…"

She followed them out of the classroom, the group making their way to the cafeteria.

"Ahh, you sure are lucky Mic likes you, Hitomi," Uraraka commented. "If it had been anyone else who'd fallen asleep in his class, he would've yelled at them!"

Hitomi giggled as the group entered the lunchroom, going to stand in line. "That's only because I already know the language, though."

"Even so!" Uraraka exclaimed, shaking her fists. "You're lucky you already know it; that means the subject is super easy for you. English is so complicated…"

"Can't argue with that."

Iida adjusted his glasses as the line moved forward. "Had it not been for the fact you already knew the language, Kanetsukabe-kun, I would have admonished you for sleeping in class and missing out on crucial knowledge. I hope you don't start doing this regularly…!" Iida started waving his hands at her, to which Hitomi held her hands up in surrender.

"I won't, I won't, I promise! It was just this once, I swear…"

By then it was the groups' turn to order their food, the conversation on hold. They quickly paid for their food, heading to the lunch table where the rest of their class sat.

Hitomi ordered ramen this time around, as she somehow still felt a little cold from being out quite late the night before. A hot lunch was just the thing she needed to warm her up.

As she listened to her friends converse, eating her ramen, she suddenly had the urge to sneeze, doing so while she still had noodles in her mouth. She tried swallowing them to keep herself from spitting them onto the table, but that turned out to be a mistake, as it caused her to choke.

Todoroki tried patting her back since he was the one sitting next to her. Once Hitomi's coughing fit had finally settled, she sniffled, her nose feeling runny.

"Oh my god, are you okay?!" Uraraka worriedly asked.

Hitomi coughed again as Todoroki continued patting her back, holding her throat. "Ugh, I'm fine…" she sniffled again, fighting the urge to wipe her nose with her bare hand.

"Are you sure? You're not sick, are you…?"

Hitomi waved her off, holding her nose. "It's nothing. The ramen's probably just making my nose run…" she sniffled again, feeling her face flush in embarrassment.

"Ah, hold on…" Todoroki suddenly said, turning to rummage for something in his pocket. "I think I have a handkerchief…"

He pulled a light blue piece of cloth out, holding it out to Hitomi. She grabbed it, blowing her nose and wiping it before realizing what she'd just done.

"Ah, sorry Todoroki!" she stuttered. "I can't give this back to you with all my snot on it…"

"I don't mind. You can just keep it, I have more…"

"No, I'll wash it!"

To that Todoroki shrugged. "You don't have to return it. Do whatever you want with it."

The group turned back to their food, the conversation picking back up from where it left off. Hitomi occasionally had to blow her nose, dirtying Todoroki's handkerchief even more.

She was definitely going to clean it and give it back to him later.

* * *

Hitomi was asleep in English again the next day.

And it wasn't just English, either. She'd slept through nearly every class, lucky she'd gone unnoticed thanks to Yaoyorozu's taller height shielding her from view. Not even her classmates had noticed she was asleep, as she was alone in the corner of the classroom behind everyone else.

Uraraka had woken her up again for lunchtime, the bluenette feeling sluggish as they made their way to the lunchroom. Hitomi yawned while they were waiting in line.

"Kanetsukabe-kun, have you been staying up late?" Iida asked, gesturing his hands at her.

Hitomi blinked, taking a minute to process his question before she shook her head. "No! I haven't been…" She trailed off, recalling what she had been doing for the last few days. She'd been texting Yoshiho late into the night lately, trying to be friendlier with her. Last night, she had just made a group chat between herself, Yoshiho, and Nari, texting them until it was almost midnight.

"Uh, scratch that," Hitomi said, yawning again. "I suppose I _have_ been staying up late lately…"

"Kanetsukabe-kun!" Iida scolded her, waving his hands at her as they grabbed their food. "Unhealthy sleeping habits are detrimental to your health! Growing teenagers such as yourself need an adequate 9 to 10 hours of sleep in order to properly be well rested...!"

"Iida," Hitomi sweatdropped, holding her hands up. "Please don't worry about me! I'll try sleeping earlier, I promise…"

She yawned again as they sat down, rubbing her eyes. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately…"

"Just make sure you're resting well. I'd hate for you to grow ill."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Hitomi was feeling a headache coming on during their hero class later that day, her movements sluggish during their exercise.

She barely had any time to react before she was immobilized by Todoroki's ice, sending chills down her spine.

"Agh…!"

The chilling temperature made her teeth chatter, All Might looking at her oddly.

"Young Kanetsukabe, you're… quite slow today," he said lightly after declaring the match was over.

Hitomi shivered, unable to move. "...I'm sorry. I'm just… not feeling well, I guess."

All Might's eyebrows raised in worry. "Oh no, then that ice isn't helping, is it? Young Todoroki!" he called across the grounds, the heterochromatic boy dropping his fighting stance. "Young Kanetsukabe needs to get out of this ice as soon as possible. She's not feeling the best."

"I-It's fine!" Hitomi stuttered as Todoroki made his way over, wincing at the cold ice on her cheek. "It's just a headache… I'll probably feel better in an hour or two."

"Well, it's a good thing you already had your match set," All Might told her, placing his hands on his hips. "Although it would have been better if you had just sat out instead… would you like to go to the infirmary and rest for the rest of today?"

"All Might, I'm fine."

All Might observed her for a few seconds, scrutinizing her under his gaze. Hitomi smiled, trying to reassure her teacher she really _was_ feeling alright.

All Might continued to stare at her for a bit longer before sighing, turning around to the rest of the class and blowing his whistle.

"Tokoyami, Kaminari, you two are going next once this all gets cleaned up."

Hitomi sighed, seeing her breath came out as mist because of the freezing temperature of the ice she was encased in. Todoroki finally stopped in front of her, placing his left hand on the ice.

"Sorry," he mumbled, his voice low as Hitomi felt the air get warmer. "I thought you were going to use your force field…"

Hitomi laughed sheepishly, the ice constricting her beginning to melt away. "It's okay. I should have reacted faster…"

Todoroki was quiet, simply nodding in reply.

* * *

**A/N: So.**

**Y'all remember how I mentioned in "Discussions of Crushes and Earrings" there was slight foreshadowing on how Bakutomi would develop?**

**Uraraka's comment on how there may be something between Todoroki and Hitomi. That's important ;)**

**On the other hand though, those two are finally interacting more! Now Todoroki's character tag is actually valid, lol.**


	52. Help With History

**A/N:** **Dropping by to say there won't be a Monday update next week. I've got Mock Congress work to deal with, and while I _do_ have those drawings finished, I want to be able to stay 3 or so chapters ahead consistently. One of the upcoming chapters is going to be almost completely illustrated so it can go on Instagram, as it's an important plot point. Since that's taking me a while it means no update next Monday, though.**

**Art - Add ****/21ktkl1trbke to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi's headache had worsened by the time they had returned to the dorms, the girl heading straight for her room to try sleeping it off with a quick nap.

She woke up two hours later, still in her school uniform and feeling like shit. Her headache _had_ gone away like she'd hoped, but now her nose was runny while her throat felt all scratchy.

_Goddammit._

Hitomi changed out of her uniform, something falling out of the pocket of her skirt as she was putting it in her laundry basket. It was a blue piece of cloth, and Hitomi realized she'd forgotten to wash Todoroki's handkerchief like she'd promised.

Hitomi sighed, bringing the basket downstairs to the laundry room on the first floor.

She leaned against the cool metal of the elevator walls, it soothing her warm cheeks.

_Please don't tell me I'm actually sick._

…

Hitomi pulled her clothes out of the dryer as soon as they were finished, the warm air flowing out of it only making her feel more sluggish.

As she was making her way to the elevators, she caught sight of Todoroki sitting on the couches, making her way over to him.

"Todoroki."

She placed her laundry basket on the armrest next to him, rummaging through her clothes before pulling out his handkerchief. "Here."

He took it, staring at it before looking back at her. "I said you didn't have to return it."

Hitomi fought the urge to cough, smiling at him. "It's fine! It's your handkerchief, I would've felt bad about keeping it…" She then looked away, blushing a little bit.

_Not to mention what giving someone a handkerchief could imply, based on what anime's told me..._

She grabbed her laundry basket, thanking him for letting her borrow it before making her way to the elevators. Unluckily for her, Mina had caught the exchange from the kitchen, squealing as she ran after her.

"What was that about~?" the pink girl smiled as Hitomi was waiting for the elevators. Hitomi coughed a little bit before glaring at her friend.

"If you think it's anything romantic, it wasn't. Todoroki gave me his handkerchief yesterday 'cause my nose was runny."

"Are you sure that was all it was~?" Mina teased, shooting Hitomi a smirk.

The elevator dinged, signaling it had reached the first floor. Hitomi huffed as she stepped inside.

"Yes. Now if you'll excuse me," she held up her basket filled with clothes, "I've got laundry to do."

Mina pouted as the doors closed, the elevator making its way to the fourth floor.

* * *

Hitomi struggled getting through her history homework, tapping her head with her pencil as she stared at the question. She'd finished folding her laundry pretty quickly, and was now trying to get through her homework since she'd napped earlier that day.

She'd breezed through English and Math pretty quickly, and was stuck on Modern Literature for a little bit before managing to pull through.

It was History she was really having trouble with.

Hitomi reread the question for the sixth time before throwing her pencil on the desk, rubbing her hands through her hair in frustration.

"Why does Midnight always pick such hard questions?" she groaned.

Her head dropped onto her workbook, Hitomi whining over how much trouble this was giving her. Her mind was too cloudy, unable to think clearly and come up with an answer.

She needed help.

Her phone was dead because she forgot to charge it, so she couldn't text anyone for the answer, and she would've used her computer to look it up, but her Wi-Fi connection was being janky and she would have to ask her brother Kinkata about that tomorrow.

Meaning she had to get up and out of her room if she wanted help.

Hitomi sifted through the people on her floor in her mind. Mina was probably still doing her homework, being one who tended to procrastinate. Uraraka was downstairs with Midoriya and the others, and if she asked Kirishima, they'd get off track, getting distracted talking about something else. She also hated to admit it, but she didn't think his answer would be right for the question that was giving her this much trouble. She wasn't familiar enough with Shouji to ask him, and she'd feel awkward, so that left…

_Bakugou._

_He has really good grades, so even if he's on house arrest, he'd definitely know the right answer._

Hitomi got up from her chair, holding her History workbook close to her as she made her way to his room.

_He would get straight to the point too, so he's the best choice._

Hitomi stood in front of his door, intimidated. For some reason the idea of being in his room made her heart race-

_Wait a minute…!_

_You're just asking him about an answer for the history homework, it's not as if you're gonna be studying in his room with him!_

Hitomi shook her head, taking a deep breath before knocking on his door. She waited for a few moments before she heard footsteps approaching, the door suddenly swinging open.

Bakugou was standing in the doorway, his hair slightly damp with a towel around his neck. He smelled as if he'd just taken a shower-

_Hitomi, what the _**fuck** _are you thinking?!_

She was at a loss for words, giving him a blank stare.

"Whaddya want?!" Bakugou growled, snapping her out of her reverie.

"Ah-!" Hitomi blushed, looking away as she clutched her workbook. "I- I just wanted to ask you about the homework…"

Bakugou scowled at her. "Hah? I'm under house arrest, I don't know what the homework is."

"Uh- well, I mean- it's for history, so I was hoping you'd already know what the answer was since you're really smart…" she trailed off, staring at her workbook before Bakugou suddenly grabbed it, flipping through the pages.

"Well, first of all, a lot of these answers from today are wrong."

"Hey-!"

"How could you do this bad?" Bakugou snarked.

"I had to learn two completely different countries' histories, leave me alone!"

Bakugou scoffed, turning to head back into his room with Hitomi's workbook. He sat down at the table in the middle of the room, staring at her as she stood frozen in front of the doorway.

"Well? Are you just gonna stand there?"

* * *

**A/N: What do y'all think about me opening a P atreon? I'm thinking if I open one it'll have access to WIPs or whatever on ALL my art, not just stuff for this fic, along with early access to unpublished chapters. I don't know if I'll actually go through with it, but if you guys want it, maybe I'll do it ^^**


	53. The Big Three

**A/N: LISTEN I KNOW I SAID NO CHAPTER TODAY BUT LOOK. LISTEN.**

**My friend has been working on her own fanfic for her MHA OC, and it's being published today! Please go read it on her Wattpad account! I'll link it in this chapter's art. I'm helping her edit it and she's putting a lot of work into it ^^**

**Anyways since I did end up posting today that means no chapter Friday, so I can still stay ahead.**

**Go wild, shippers.**

**Art - Add ****/21nv2pzaw7v1 to the DevaintArt Stash URL.**

* * *

Hitomi stared at Bakugou from the doorway before her face suddenly flushed. "Huh?!"

Bakugou scowled, resting his head on his hand. "You wanted help, didn't you? So are you just gonna stand there like an idiot or come inside?"

Hitomi blinked at him for a solid three seconds before tentatively stepping through the doorway, her eyes drifting around the room as she closed the door.

It was surprisingly neat, books and school supplies organized on his desk, with some All Might posters taped on the wall. There wasn't nearly as many as Midoriya's room had, but Hitomi smiled at the fact Bakugou was just as much a fan of the former No. 1 hero as her other friend was.

"Are you done staring at my room yet?"

Hitomi spluttered, immediately plopping down on the floor at the table. "...Sorry." She felt stiff, as if this was somewhere she shouldn't be.

Bakugou dropped their class History textbook onto the table, the loud slam startling Hitomi a little bit. She watched as he flipped through it, stopping at the latest chapter they were studying.

"Uh-! You don't have to get that!" Hitomi stuttered, pulling her workbook back to her. "I just wanted your help with one question…"

"I already said, a lot of your answers from today's homework is wrong. Plus, it's a chance for me to know what I missed before Deku does," he growled.

"Oh…" Hitomi sweatdropped. She scratched her cheek, looking away. Her chest had that fluttery feeling again, and she didn't understand why. Well, she _had_ felt something odd earlier about the idea of being alone in his room with him, but she couldn't figure out _why_ she was feeling that.

_It's probably something stupid, anyway._

* * *

"So what did we want Manchuria for?" Bakugou asked, staring at her.

"Uh…" Hitomi tapped her chin, thinking. She suddenly groaned, flopping down onto the floor. "I don't know. Why does history have to be so hard?!"

"You're not gonna get it if you keep complaining."

"But it's so hard!" Hitomi whined. "It fries my brain."

"Simple facts about history fry your brain but precalc problems don't?" Bakugou asked, raising a brow.

Hitomi glared at him from the floor. "That's different. Precalculus has set equations that can work you toward the answer. History has so many events and dates to memorize that remembering them overwhelms me."

Bakugou sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, well think about it. It was important enough that we went to war with Russia over it. What could Manchuria have that both countries wanted?"

Hitomi stared at the ceiling, trying to think. "Resources…?"

Bakugou grunted, nodding.

"Oh, wait, really?!" Hitomi smiled, sitting up and clasping her hands together. "I got it right?"

"I don't get why you're so happy about that."

Hitomi stopped, her cheeks flushing. "Ah… it's just, I've always struggled with history, even back in America…"

She fiddled with her shirt, looking away. "To get it right for once just makes me happy, I guess, even if it's over something so small."

She glanced back at her workbook, staring at the answers Bakugou had said were wrong. "I should probably be fixing those, huh…?"

Bakugou got up from the table, walking over to his desk and grabbing a pencil and eraser and handing them to her.

"Oh… thanks."

She erased her answers, writing in the new ones Bakugou had helped her come up with.

"You're left-handed?"

Bakugou's question caught her off guard, halting her writing.

"Huh?" She glanced at the pencil in her hand before looking back at the blonde. "Oh, yeah, I am. You never noticed before?"

Bakugou scowled. "The other idiots were always distracting me."

Hitomi laughed, before returning to her writing as Bakugou watched her, humming to herself. It was a simple tune, one Bakugou recognized was from an anime that was getting popular recently.

Hitomi read over her answers one more time before she closed her workbook shut, giving Bakugou a soft smile as she rose from the table.

"Thanks so much for helping me, Bakugou! For once I feel confident about my answers."

Bakugou's eyes widened before he suddenly looked away, muttering, "Yeah, whatever."

Hitomi smiled at him one last time before she left, leaving Bakugou alone with his thoughts.

He covered his mouth with his hand, his shoulders tensing up.

_...Her voice was really cute._

* * *

Hitomi was not in a good mood the next morning. She had a pounding headache, she felt hot but cold at the same time, and her nose would not. Stop. Running.

But she was not going to miss class, especially after seeing how determined Midoriya was to catch up on the three days of class he missed.

"Now that Midoriya's back," Aizawa started, "we can talk about the work studies I mentioned the other day." He glanced at the door, saying, "Come in."

The door slid open, three students Hitomi suspected were upperclassmen walking in as Aizawa continued.

"We'll have people who experienced it firsthand tell you about the internships. Listen carefully.

They're three third-years at UA, who stand at the top of all UA students—

The Big Three."

Hitomi stared at the three students before laying her head on top of her desk, listening to her classmates talk amongst themselves about the three third-years.

"Okay, can you please introduce yourselves briefly?" she heard Aizawa ask.

She heard the class fall silent for a full minute while her head was on her desk, before she heard Ojiro's voice pipe up from the front.

"Um, you _are_ the top of UA's hero course, right?"

Hitomi looked back at the front of the classroom to see one of the third-years (the one she noted was slouching earlier) facing the wall, trembling as the girl said he had the "heart of the flea."

"This is the flea, Tamaki Amajiki," the girl introduced, turning to face the class. "I'm Nejire Hado. We were asked to talk to you guys about work studies."

She trailed off, before suddenly breaking into a tangent, asking various classmates random things about themselves.

From her seat Hitomi could see Aizawa getting irritated, to which the last third-year, the blonde one, Hitomi noted, turned to face the class.

"The journey ahead—?!" he suddenly yelled. The class fell silent, right as Hitomi sneezed.

"That's where you say: '—will be full of difficulties!'" the third year continued. "Alright, you all utterly fail at getting the point of conversation!"

The class began muttering amongst themselves over the Big Three's apparent weirdness, and Hitomi's nose wouldn't stop running. She kept sniffling, enough so that Todoroki gave her his handkerchief again before the third-year continued his speech.

"Well, I can see from your faces you have no clue what's going on," he said. "The explanation of the internships, which aren't even a requirement, has been left to these third-year students who just appeared all of a sudden. I get it, it doesn't make much sense, right?"

A glint suddenly appeared in his eye. "You acquired your provisional licenses as first-years, am I right? This year's first-years are really energetic, aren't they…? Well, since it seems like my intro fell flat, how would you all like to team up…

And fight against me?!"

* * *

Hitomi was feeling lightheaded as the class stood with the third-years in their gym clothes in Gym Gamma, just barely catching what everyone was saying. From what she'd heard, she garnered the blonde third-year's name was Mirio Togata.

"Feel free to come at me wherever and whenever you want! So who's up first?" the third-year said.

…

Hitomi didn't even try fighting him.

She was too dizzy, it taking everything she had just to keep herself from falling over.

All the attacks her classmates threw at Mirio passed right through him, the young man falling through the ground and popping up in different places as if he was warping.

Right as Mirio appeared in front of her, she just barely had enough strength to muster up a force field. His arm passed right through it before she could react, punching her so hard in the stomach she wanted to puke.

She wasn't the only one who fell to the ground, clutching her stomach in pain. Mirio had gotten every single member of the class, taking them down effortlessly.

He was unbelievably strong.

…

Hitomi had to keep herself from coughing as Mirio gave his speech to the class, not wanting to interrupt his words of inspiration.

The world looked as if it was spinning, the sounds getting muffled as Hitomi's vision blurred. Right as Mirio finished up his speech, Hitomi collapsed on Kirishima, damn near almost fainting.

"Hitomi?!"

She was sweating a lot, her face flushed a deep red. Kirishima felt her forehead, recoiling at the heat.

"Oh my god, you're burning up!"

"Is she okay?!"

"No… I think she has a fever!"

"Kirishima," Aizawa said. "Get her to the infirmary."

* * *

**A/N: ufufufufufu...**

**You know what this means?**

**SICK FIC!**

**On the other hand though, Hitomi needs to take better care of herself :/ She has a higher tolerance to heat than most people because of her quirk, so the rise in her body temperature wouldn't bother her that much, but she should've stopped when she felt her headache. smh Hitomi, smh 😔**


	54. Being Sick Really Sucks

**A/N: ****Art - Add ****/2bv2lwx1mli to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"She's sick, alright."

Recovery Girl put down the thermometer that displayed "103.6°F."

"How long have you been feeling sick, Hitomi?" Kirishima asked.

Hitomi scratched her nose, sniffling a bit. "...honestly? Since Monday…" she mumbled.

"What?! You mean you've been sick for _four_ days?"

"That's very irresponsible, young lady!" Recovery Girl berated her. "You should have been resting in bed, not going to school and making it worse!"

"But it's a new term; I didn't want to miss anything…"

"Hitomi, we literally live with our classmates now. I'm sure Iida or Yaoyorozu would've kept you up to date."

"But…"

"No buts, young lady," Recovery Girl interrupted. "I can't heal you because you've exhausted yourself coming to school. All you can do now is rest. You're welcome to stay here in the infirmary, but if you go back to your dorm you can change into more comfortable clothes and rest in your room there."

"I think I'd rather go to the dorms… I don't want to stay in my uniform all day," Hitomi said before she sneezed.

"Alright then. Kirishima, help her back to the dorms."

"Yes, ma'am," Kirishima complied, helping Hitomi off the bed and leading her out of the room.

They made their way past the shoe lockers, on their way to change out of their gym clothes back in the locker room.

"You really don't have to walk me back, Kirishima."

"What are you talking about?! You're sick; it'd be super unmanly of me if I didn't."

Hitomi let out a small cough. "...don't worry about me. You shouldn't miss class just because I'm sick. I can make it to the dorms by myself; it's only a 5-minute walk, after all…"

"No way. What if you faint again? Or collapse? Or-"

"_Kirishima._"

She grabbed his arm, the two of them stopping in the middle of the corridor.

"Please?" she asked, giving him the best puppy dog eyes she could muster. Kirishima recoiled, looking away. "You need to learn the material more than I do. I'd feel guilty if you missed something important because of me…"

Kirishima avoided looking at her puppy dog eyes, but his resolve was breaking. He glanced at her briefly, before sighing.

"I'll only go if that's what'll make you happy," he said. "_But_," he suddenly grabbed her arm, pulling her with him down the hallway. "At least let me walk you to the changing rooms and the shoe lockers. That's the least I can do."

"That's fine!" Hitomi smiled.

* * *

Hitomi trudged down the walkway, back in her regular school uniform with the weight of her backpack dragging her down.

_I should've let Kirishima walk me back…_ she thought as she felt her head begin to pound.

_But Kirishima needs to pay attention to the class. It's hard to admit, but he can be a little dumb sometimes._

The bluenette sighed, dragging her feet to the front door of Heights Alliance before shoving it open. She heard the sound of a vacuum cleaner halt as she made her way to the common area, throwing her backpack onto the floor as she flopped onto the couch.

Her head was _really_ pounding now. Why was she so stubborn sometimes?

"The hell are you doing here?"

Hitomi heard Bakugou's voice above her—he probably made his way over when he heard someone enter— and simply groaned in reply.

She was feeling too dizzy to deal with him at the moment.

Bakugou tched at her lack of response, about to ask her again before his phone buzzed in his pocket.

It was a text from Kirishima.

_Hitomi's sick. Like, she's-been-sick-for-four-days sick. Take good care of her for me!_

The blonde glanced at the girl lying on the couch, noting her stillness.

"Have you seriously been coming to school while you're sick, dumbass?"

"...shut up." Her voice was muffled from mashing her face into the cushions.

Bakugou rolled his eyes, replying "_Whatever, Shitty Hair_" to his friend before he nudged Hitomi.

"You need to leave. I'm not done cleaning here."

"No."

"Why the fuck not?!"

"Can't get uuup."

"Quit messing around. Go upstairs."

Hitomi rolled over to look at him, sniffling as she did so. "I'm too dizzy to get up, _idiot_," she mumbled. "Lemme rest here for a while."

Some tick marks appeared on the blonde's face at the "idiot" remark, but he kept himself from shouting at her. "I can't finish cleaning with you here."

"Well, deal with it. I'm not moving." Hitomi smushed her face into the cushions again, groaning at the throbbing pain in her head.

"...for fucks sake."

Bakugou grabbed her backpack and slung it over his shoulder before he approached the couch and turned Hitomi over. He noted her flushed face as she stared at him in confusion, placing a hand on her forehead to check her temperature. His hand recoiled as he felt the heat.

"Holy shit, you're fucking _burning._"

Hitomi squinted at him, before closing her eyes. "No, duh. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."

Bakugou scowled at her, cursing to himself as he moved to pick her up off the couch. Hitomi felt her face get hotter as he carried her to the elevators.

"What are you doing?!"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm taking you to your room, because you're an annoying little shit who won't stay out of my way."

Hitomi huffed as she felt her heart beat faster, her face flushing more as Bakugou took her to her room. He unceremoniously kicked open the door, laying her on her bed as he dropped her backpack onto her desk chair.

"I'm not done, so don't call for me unless it's an emergency. Got it?"

"Mhmm… thanks for taking me to my room…" Hitomi muttered, wiping the sweat off her brow.

Bakugou scoffed, quietly shutting the door to go back to cleaning the common area.

Hitomi staggered over to her closet, pulling some more comfortable clothes out and changing before flopping back onto her bed.

_The room is spinning…_

Man, she really screwed herself over now. She should've just stayed in bed, and maybe then she wouldn't be feeling like garbage.

_Being sick really sucks_, she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Okay. Dropping by to say they're may not be Monday updates for the next few weeks.**

**For one thing, I haven't been able to get as far ahead in chapter art as I would have liked, and I especially can't do it this week since it's finals.**

**Second, I've been working on the Christmas special for the side stories, and if I want to get it out in time I can't work on chapter art anyway. (This thing is getting LONG, it's over 6000 words already and I'm not even close to done yet!)**

**Third, some of the chapters for this current arc may get a _major_ rewrite. With where it's at right now I think it could be better, so I'm going to go back and try improving it. If I can't, oh well. It is what it is ^^;**


	55. A Feverish Realization

**A/N: **Yeah so this fic is definitely going on hiatus. Since I'm spending all my time on the Christmas special and I don't know how long this rewrite will take or how much I'll change, updates are definitely gonna stop for a little while. Hopefully not long though, as I'm officially going on winter break today. I prepped so many chapters in advance so this wouldn't happen, but now that we're getting close to the chapters I'm rewriting I have no choice but to stop updating for a bit if I want to give y'all a quality romance 😭

**A lot of pictures this chapter. It's the one that I tried to (mostly) illustrate so it could go on Instagram.**

**Check it out after you read this chapter! :D (Account is hitomi. mimii)**

**Art - Add ****/21fn7ipeffre**** to the DeviantArt Stash URL.**

* * *

"_...Midoriya?"_

_Hitomi approached the curly-haired boy, whose back was facing her. He didn't respond to her call, which was a little odd. He would usually warmly reply, so it threw Hitomi off, to say the least._

"_Midoriya? Is everything okay?" She placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention. The moment she touched his shoulder, he fell to the ground abruptly, his arms wrapped in splints._

_Hitomi blinked, suddenly back at the training camp, in the same clothes from when it was attacked. The thick smell of smoke hit her like a freight train, practically throwing her off her feet._

What?

_The panic and distress came rushing back as she stared at Midoriya's broken body on the ground, rushing to help him. "Midoriya!"_

_The moment she touched him though, she blinked and she was back in America, back in her 12 year old body. Back at the outdoor shopping mall._

_Back when Nari got her scar._

_Hitomi found herself on the ground, a distance away from Nari and the villain, his claws threatening to slice her._

_She tried to will her body to move, but she was frozen. Nari saw her out of the corner of her eye, her head craning to look at the bluenette as the villain's claw poked her neck, blood dripping down her skin._

"_H...Hitomi…"_

_Silver eyes widened in horror as Hitomi finally, finally moved her arm to reach out, desperate to save her friend._

"_W-_

_WAIT-!"_

_She blinked again to see she was back at training camp, her arm still outstretched. But who was she reaching for?_

"_KACCHAN!"_

_Hitomi looked behind her to see Midoriya running in her direction, his arms wrapped in the splints she saw just moments before. She turned to face forward abruptly, realizing Bakugou was right in front of her. The villain's hand was wrapped around his neck, slowly pulling him through the portal as if to taunt her._

Get up, GET UP!

**MOVE!**

_She sprang up from the ground, her legs moving forward as she tried reaching for him._

"_BAKUGOU!"_

_Before she could even touch him, he was pulled through the portal, it disappearing completely as she fell to the ground._

"_Bakugou…"_

No. No, no, no, NO!

"_...Kanetsukabe-san…"_

_Hitomi paused, slowly turning her head to see Midoriya on the ground behind her. His voice came out strained, Hitomi surprised by the glare on his face._

"_You were right in front of him… why didn't you save him?"_

_Before she could open her mouth, she found herself in a hospital, sitting in a chair by Nari's bed. Her friend was unconscious, the slow beep of the heart rate monitor the only sound in the room._

_The door opened, Nari's parents rushing in. Her mother stopped at the sight of Hitomi, looking at her with disdain._

"_Hitomi… why are _you _here? You shouldn't be."_

"_I-"_

"_You had the quirk to protect my daughter. _Why didn't you?"

"Don't you get it?" _a new voice called._

_This time, Hitomi found herself standing in an endless void, wearing her hero costume. She recognized the voice, it belonging to someone she'd only met recently._

"_What can you _really _do?"_

_Hitomi turned around, seeing Yoshiho approaching her._

_Before she knew it, she was pinned to the ground by Yoshiho's quirk, the gravity pushing down on her like a heavy weight. Yoshiho loomed over her, disgust on her face._

"_It's just as I said. Someone like _you_, with a quirk like _yours_, is useless. You're never able to do _anything_."_

_Tears started to pool in Hitomi's eyes. "You… you're _wrong_," she stuttered._

"_Am I? You can't save anyone._

_Not your best friend, not your classmates, no one._

_Do you _really _think you have what it takes to be a hero?_

_You're just fooling yourself."_

"_You're wrong," Hitomi cried out, covering her ears. "You're _wrong_, you're WRONG-"_

* * *

Hitomi's eyes shot open at the sound of soft knocking on her bedroom door.

"_Kanetsukabe? You up?"_

_Bakugou?_

"E-Eh? Um, yes…" Her voice came out weak, Hitomi noticing the fresh tears running down her face.

"_I'm coming in."_

Hitomi took a second to wipe her tears, a moist rag falling off her forehead onto her pillow.

_That's right… I'm sick…_

The door swung open slowly, Hitomi pulling her blanket closer in an attempt to hide her face.

Bakugou entered her room, placing a bowl of soup on the side table by her bed. Hitomi sniffled, recalling the nightmare she'd just experienced.

"_What can you _really _do?"_

_I thought…_

_I thought I had finally moved past that._

_...I guess old habits are hard to break,_ Hitomi thought bitterly.

"I made you lunch, so eat it whenever you're up for it. I'm going back to cleaning."

Right as he turned to leave, Hitomi's body moved before she could realize what she was doing.

"W-

Wait!"

She abruptly grabbed the back of his shirt, tears flowing down her face as Bakugou looked back at her in surprise.

"C-Could you stay here with me a little longer…?"

_If you leave, you could disappear again._

Hitomi trailed off as she finally looked up, seeing the dumbfounded expression on the Bakugou's face. She quickly let go as she looked away, scrubbing at her eyes in embarrassment. "Sorry… that was silly of me to ask; I just had a stupid nightmare where you got taken away- it was dumb, anyway-"

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Bakugou run a hand through his hair as he scoffed, before she heard him say, "It's only for a little bit, isn't it…"

"You don't have to…!" Hitomi stuttered, feeling her face flush. "I don't know what was going through my head, really…!"

"Move over."

Hitomi stared at him for a moment before she flopped back onto her bed, pulling her blanket closer to avoid Bakugou seeing her in such an embarrassed state any longer.

She felt her heart starting to beat faster as she turned so her back was facing him, waiting for him to sit down on her bed.

He laid down next to her instead.

Hitomi went rigid, noticing how close their bodies were to each other on her small bed.

_Well, now it's weird to say something like 'I thought you were gonna sit down'! Why'd he even lay down next to me, anyway?!_

"Um… don't you think you'll get sick being this close to me…?"

"Like hell I will. My immune system isn't fucking weak like yours apparently is."

"Hey…"

"So? What were you even doing dreaming about me getting taken, anyway?" Bakugou grumbled.

Hitomi faltered, recalling the nightmare. Was she really going to vent to _Bakugou_ of all people about her feelings?

It seemed like she was.

"I just… I was so scared," Hitomi mumbled, bunching up the blanket in her hand. "I watched you get kidnapped when I was right in front of you back at the training camp, and… I'm scared something like that will happen again.

And it wasn't just you I saw. I saw Midoriya when his arms were wrapped in splints, and… and…Nari, back when I couldn't save her and she got that scar..."

Hitomi felt her eyes well up, laughing about how pathetic she could be.

"...I really am just useless."

Hitomi sniffled, wiping her face. Next to her she heard Bakugou growl, his voice rumbling in his throat.

"Stop saying that shit."

Hitomi stopped, turning over slightly to look at Bakugou in bewilderment. "...Huh?"

She saw Bakugou frown, the boy pushing some of his bangs back as he huffed. "That shit you're always going on about, about how you can't do anything. You need to stop doing that."

Hitomi rolled back over, fiddling with the Pikachu plushie that sat on her bed. "...I've been trying," she replied, feeling as if her heart was beginning to ache. "But… it's hard to let go of the mindset you've held onto for _years_, especially when you keep failing to protect the people you care about-"

_Nari._

"-again-"

_Midoriya._

"-and again-"

_You._

"-and again."

Hitomi closed her eyes, trying to hold back tears as she felt her voice began to waver. "You were right in front of me," she mumbled, "and I didn't do _anything_."

Ah, the tears were flowing and they weren't stopping now.

"I didn't have any injuries, I was right there, and I could've reached for you, and what did I do? _Nothing_. All I did was watch, just like I did with Nari that day."

Hitomi covered her mouth, trying to hold back a sob. "I thought I had finally changed… but I guess not." She wiped her eyes, sniffling again. "Sorry," she mumbled. "You probably didn't want to listen to me vent, huh…?"

"...Dump as much as you want."

Hitomi's eyes widened, peeking over her shoulder to look at Bakugou in surprise. "...What?"

Bakugou was looking away, running a hand through his hair. "Keeping all that pent up inside…" he muttered, "until it all boils over, it's a bad idea."

Bakugou stared at the lava lamp that sat on Hitomi's dresser, thinking back to his fight with Midoriya. All that frustration and guilt he'd kept to himself for so long…

It felt _awful_.

Bakugou wasn't the type to talk about his feelings, opting for throwing punches and relieving the stress through fighting instead. But…

Hitomi wasn't like him.

Hitomi was the type of person who would completely break down.

And that was why she needed to let it out.

"You shouldn't… blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault," Bakugou grunted, turning to stare at the ceiling. He thought for a moment, trying to dredge up words. "You weren't obligated to… _save_ me."

"That doesn't change the fact I could've done something," Hitomi replied.

Bakugou scowled. "I'm not done, Moon Face."

_Moon Face?_ Hitomi thought. _That's new…_

She heard Bakugou grumble to himself, as if he was trying to think of something more to say.

"...You're so fixated on what you could have done to save everyone else," Bakugou finally said, "that you never stopped to think that maybe _you_ needed saving, too."

Hitomi froze, her eyes widening.

"You were also a victim in that attack," Bakugou grumbled, feeling his eyes narrow at the mere _thought_ of the villains, "so you shouldn't blame yourself for not being able to save me. Nobody could have back there, even _I _knew that."

"I…" Hitomi paused, thinking it over. "I guess I never thought of it that way…"

"Yeah, so stop believing everything's your own damn fault like an idiot."

Hitomi sniffled, wiping her eyes. "I'll try."

"Trying is enough," Bakugou said, sitting up. "You may think you haven't changed, but you're wrong. The fact you're going to try is proof of that." He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, staring at Hitomi's carpet.

"You're not useless, otherwise you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't have… gotten your license, if you really couldn't do anything."

Hitomi's eyes widened, staring at Bakugou's back in awe. She saw him rub the back of his neck, hearing him huff.

"Always spouting off all that fucking nonsense…" Bakugou grumbled. "You _are_ strong, y'know? Your force fields are practically indestructible, not to mention those new moves of yours…" Bakugou rose from the bed, beginning to make his way to the door.

"Quit selling yourself short, it fucking pisses me off hearing you say that about yourself all the time."

Hitomi felt her breath catch, at a loss for words.

Bakugou… thought that way about _her?_

"Bakugou…" Hitomi called after him, rolling over to look at him. She felt her face warm as he looked back at her, feeling a fluttery feeling in her chest. "Thanks… for saying all that," she said, smiling softly. "It made me feel better, at least just a little bit."

They stared at each other for a few moments before Bakugou turned away, shoving his hands into his pockets as he headed for the door. "...Whatever. I need to finish cleaning, so don't bother me."

Hitomi hummed in response, watching as he left the room, the door closing softly.

Hitomi felt odd.

All those things Bakugou said to her, it made her feel weird.

Her heart was practically buzzing in her chest.

It was a familiar feeling.

And it was happening a lot recently.

Whenever they were hanging out, when she watched him when they were creating their super moves, and now when Bakugou said all those nice things about her-

Hitomi's eyes widened, her cheeks turning red as the realization hit her like a freight train.

_Oh my god._

_I _like _Bakugou._

* * *

**A/N: With her mind tired and hazy, it was hard for Hitomi to keep her feelings of self-doubt from resurfacing. She'd made progress in trying to move on from her self-blame after Nari's speech to her, but Yoshiho's words at the license exam set her back just a tad bit. Not like Hitomi actually holds any resentment towards her though. She's looked past that and has made the effort to be Yoshiho's friend. But the exhaustion of sickness allowed Hitomi's horrible feelings to return and manifest itself in the form of a horrible nightmare.**

**uwaaahh... Too soon?**

**I planned from the very beginning for this to be the point where Hitomi realizes her feelings. But looking back on it now, I wish I had spent more time establishing her and Bakugou as friends first. I was able to just a tad from the goof I made incorrectly numbering the chapters, but I wish I'd done more other than just that.**

**Oh, well. Let's just hope you all will enjoy how she handles this news from here on out. ^^**


	56. Another Update! (IMPORTANT INFO)

***kicks the door down***

GUYS! I HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU!

Sorry to those who thought this might've been a new chapter, that won't be for another month or two, at best.

BUT if you're looking for more written content of Hitomi, you're in luck! A wonderful person by the name of hanabi_ohanabi wrote a fic of Hitomi on Archive of Our Own, titled "Everlasting Happiness". It's a real good read, and I loved it a lot!

I'd give a link, but FanFiction doesn't allow them :( So just search up their username on Ao3.

Please check it out and give them kudos! ^^

Since I'm here, I suppose I'll also give an update on I Provide Protection's status. The first anniversary of the day I started posting it is coming up soon (May 2), and I'm working on a little something special for it 😉

Besides that though, I did a little more rewriting of Momo's B-day Arc because when I went back to look through it a few weeks ago, I was NOT happy with it. I think I'm satisfied with it for real this time though!

With the current world situation, as you all know, everyone must stay at home in quarantine. Because of this, there had to be some revisions with my school's senior project, so I have a smaller load this time around. However, since we've moved to online classes, I've had to push myself to keep track of my schoolwork, and make sure I don't get lazy or irresponsible about turning stuff in in time. For the most part I've been doing okay, but I've been really lazy about assignments that don't have an actual set due date (I'm sorry my English teacher TvT)

So until I can get better at keeping track of my homework, IPP still won't come back, despite the fact I'm stuck at home and have _way_ more time to draw now. I _have_ actually been drawing stuff that I've been posting to my Instagram account, but I don't want to work on any fic stuff because I can't commit to that biweekly upload schedule again just yet.

Thank you guys so much for being patient with me and sticking through this hiatus. It really means a lot to me. 😊

Now go and read Everlasting Happiness!


	57. Happy Anniversary!

I'm back again! Hello there! ^^

Do you guys know what day it is?

A year ago, I posted the very first chapter of this fanfiction.

Today is the first anniversary of I Provide Protection!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has read this story, whether you're just finding it, or if you've been around since the very first chapter, _thank you_ for sticking with me and this story for so long. I can't believe it's already been a year.

This is the biggest project I've ever done, and I'm normally daunted by things like this, so afraid to follow through I can't even commit in the first place. When I first started writing this fanfic, I had only planned up to the Hideout Raid Arc, and had no idea how I was going to end it. I was unsure, believing this fic wasn't going to last long, and that I'd lose my commitment to it by the summer.

But now we're here, the next arc being completely original story content, this fic having its own accompanying side stories (it even has its own fanfiction!), and I still love writing and creating for I Provide Protection just as much as I did in the beginning.

So really, thank you, thank you, _thank you_ from the bottom of my heart, for sticking around through this hiatus, waiting patiently for IPP to come back. It means so much to me you guys' enjoy Hitomi's story, especially since I've never put this amount of effort and love into an OC before. ️

I feel like my art has improved during these last few months, so I hope the wait to see this upcoming Bakutomi-centered arc will be worth it. There are so many scenes I can't wait to draw, and you can BET I'm gonna give my all into those drawings.

Now, onto what this whole note was for! Since it's IPP's anniversary, there was a little something special I made for it. It's an anime ending animatic for the second half of this fic! ^^ It features scenes largely from Momo's Birthday Arc, along with a few other scenes from the arc after.

Unfortunately, FanFiction doesn't let you post clickable links, which sucks. :/

If you want to watch it, you can search up my YouTube channel (PuffedGill) and it should be the most recent video, "I Provide Protection - 2nd Cour Ending || BNHA OC Fanfic Animatic".

It features scenes largely from Momo's Birthday Arc, along with a few other scenes from the arc after. Oh, to know the context behind each and every one of them while your readers don't. I'm excited to see your theories of what's happening in them. :)

Jokes aside, I tried my best not to be too spoilery with what was shown, while still trying to keep it interesting. There's not really any inherent symbolism in the animatic since I'm not the best at it, but I hoped you like it, and that it makes you excited for what's to come! 😊

Again, thank you so much for sticking with this story, and happy anniversary!


	58. Hiatus Status

Hi there, it's me again.

So as many people know, school is starting back up or has already started by now. This includes for me as well.

I've mentioned this several times before, but in case anyone didn't know, I graduated from high school back in June. I'll be starting college this week. Some of my classes will be completely online, while others will require me to attend Zoom meetings. This means I'll have to be shifting my focus.

I need to make my studies my main priority, especially since I still don't have a career path figured out, and sadly, this means the creation of art I have been working on for IPP the past few months is going to have to slow down. 😔 I'll still try to work on it whenever I can of course! But again, I'm going to focus on schoolwork first, fanfic art second.

I'm sure many of you can understand how important schoolwork and figuring out your career path are, but if you were still disappointed IPP hasn't returned yet, just know that I apologize. Believe me, I would love for it to return too! But I need to focus on things that are just more important.

The next time this book gets updated, fingers crossed it'll be to announce IPP is returning! I will see you all then.

Thank you for being patient, and until next time ❤️💕


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